AI-Powered HR Recruitment: The Stock Market’s Next Mega Trend & How to Invest
5 minutes, 40 seconds read:
Hello Sweet Money Readers,
Welcome to the first edition of Sweet Money-Making Monday!
In Sweet Money-Making Monday, we’ll unpack two key investment topics to help you start your investing week on the right foot.
These topics are:
- Economic Edge: U.S. Market Insights – We’ll highlight U.S. market economic insights to watch in the week ahead, including a weekly calendar of major economic releases that may move the markets.
- Mega Trend-Tech Watch – Here, you’ll discover new technological and innovative trends to watch that could put money in your pocket.
In this week’s Mega Trend-Tech Watch, I will give you two ways to invest in a rising AI trend. Stay tuned!
Let’s get started.
In Economic Edge this week, mark your calendars!
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release updated Consumer Price Index (CPI) seasonal factors this Wednesday, February 12.
This release could move the markets as it shows where we are in the inflation fight.
You may wonder what CPI seasonal factors are and why they matter.
CPI seasonal factors refer to adjusting inflation data to account for seasonal changes that could affect prices.
Think of it as the difference in the price of an airline ticket during the height of the summer travel season versus the cost of an airline ticket in January after the holiday season.
Holidays, weather changes, or yearly sales events can impact inflation data.
To account for these seasonal changes each year, the BLS re-estimates seasonal factors over a set period.
In this week’s case, the BLS will re-estimate seasonal factors for 2020-2024.
These re-estimated numbers can change the sentiment of past inflation data.
According to Bloomberg Economics, two years ago, this re-estimate “process led to large upward revisions to seasonally adjusted core CPI for the second half of 2022.”
This means that inflation was higher and more pervasive than initially thought.
The re-estimated CPI seasonal factors at that time showed a massive increase. This increase alarmed the Federal Reserve (Fed), as it showed that inflation was here to stay and not coming down anytime soon.
So, the markets are anticipating the latest CPI seasonal factors numbers on Wednesday.
After reviewing the latest Bloomberg analysis data, it is expected that this year’s updates will likely not be a repeat of the massive re-estimated numbers two years ago.
Forecasts suggest we may see a tamer re-estimate. This means lower inflation.
If that’s the case, more rate cuts could be on the table.
More rate cuts can push certain stocks higher.
In addition to the CPI seasonal factors being released on Wednesday, January’s CPI month-over-month (MoM) and year-over-year (YoY) releases will also be posted.
January’s CPI MoM and YoY are expected to show a positive decrease to 0.3% and remain unchanged at 2.9%, respectively.
If you’re unfamiliar with CPI, it is a measure used to track the average change in prices that consumers pay for goods and services over time.
It tells us how much prices rise or fall, helping us to understand inflation.
A simple example of CPI is buying a basket of goods (like food, clothing, and gas) every month.
The CPI looks at how much the total cost of that basket changes over time.
- This month, your basket of goods costs $200.
- A year later, the same basket costs $210.
In this example, CPI increased by 5%, meaning prices rose by 5% that year.
In short, CPI shows how much more (or less) expensive things are getting for consumers. It helps track inflation, affecting how much money you need to spend to buy the same things.
In addition to the CPI numbers on Wednesday, there are several other major economic releases this week.
On Tuesday, February 11, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Optimism Index posts at 6:00 am ET.
This index represents a survey of 800 small companies.
This survey measures the optimism and outlook of small business owners regarding economic conditions, hiring plans, and sales expectations.
A reading below 100 signifies less optimistic sentiment, while above 100 suggests a generally positive outlook.
NFIB estimates for January are expected to remain high/optimistic at 104.7, slightly lower than the December print of 105.1.
On Thursday, February 13, January’s Producer Price Index (PPI) Final Demand MoM print likely increased to 0.3% from 0.2% the prior month.
This possible increase would be due to rising energy prices in January, which saw wintry weather throughout most of the U.S.
Producer prices (output) measure the change in the cost of goods as they leave their place of production.
One other major U.S. economic release to highlight this week is Retail Sales Advance MoM.
The consensus is for this number to dip into negative territory, touching -0.2%.
Again, chilly weather will likely be to blame if this print shows a decline, as shoppers in more frigid climates likely remained at home.
For additional economic releases this week, please check out the table below.
The colorful arrows indicate the direction and impact of the estimates for these releases.
Green = positive
Red = negative
Yellow =neutral
*********************
Now, let’s move to Mega Trend-Tech Watch.
In my research, one of the next technology mega trends to watch is artificial intelligence (AI) HR Recruitment.
AI has proliferated many aspects of business and daily life in recent years.
New data and projections show that human resource recruiting is no different.
Recent Genius data states, “The hiring game has changed: 65% of companies now let AI help choose their next employees.”
And 44% of recruiters use AI to save time when hiring.
Simply put, AI recruitment tools are now essential, not optional.
With businesses increasingly using AI to improve hiring, estimates show the AI recruitment market may grow from $661 million in 2023 to $1.12 billion by 2030. This is a compound annual growth (CAGR) of nearly 8%.
For a prime example of how AI impacts workplace hiring, look no further than Workday Inc.
Workday is a publicly traded company that makes software to help businesses manage their employees and finances.
Last Wednesday, the company announced it will lay off 1,750 employees, or 8.5% of its staffers.
The software company said that, as a business, it’s “prioritizing innovation investments like AI” and that it will hire in strategic areas, including AI, to allow for quicker decision-making.
The writing is on the wall. AI in HR recruitment is an investment area to watch.
So here are two ways to invest in this AI mega trend.
First, consider buying shares in the Global X Funds Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (NasdaqGM: AIQ).
AIQ is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to track the performance of the Indxx Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Index. This index tracks companies in developed markets positioned to benefit from using artificial intelligence technology in their products and services.
The second way to invest in this trend is by joining our monthly newsletter publication, The GenWealth Report.
I’ve already hand-selected a stock that could benefit from this AI HR Recruitment trend and will recommend it in the March 2025 issue of The GenWealth Report.
If you’re not yet a member of The GenWealth Report, please check out the details here on how to subscribe.
In the February issue, published this past Monday, February 3, I recommended an AI Automation robot stock that gained as much as 7.4% by Wednesday, February 5. That’s just two stock trading days.
The key to The GenWealth Report’s investment selection is the S.T.A.R.® investment research method.
S.T.A.R.® is a research protocol I developed to select securities with the potential to secure solid investment gains.
S.T.A.R.® stands for:
- Screen
- Trend
- Analyze
- Research
My stock screeners have produced triple-digit gains for subscribers from robotic stocks like Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ: SYM) to real estate investment trusts like the Power REIT (NYSE: PW).
So, check out The GenWealth Report today. It’s just $99 for a 1-year subscription.
We’d love to have you as part of The GenWealth Family!
That’s it for this edition of Sweet Money-Making Monday.
If you have any questions you’d like addressed in our reader mailbag, please email us at support @ lancasterinvesting.com.
And don’t forget to follow me on X @InvestWithAmber for regular market posts.
Until next time, keep investing!
Amber Lancaster
Editor, The GenWealth Report
Disclaimer: We will not track any recommendations in Sweet Money Daily. We are just sharing our opinions, not advice. If you want access to the stocks in our model portfolio with tracking, updates, and buy/sell guidance, please check out The GenWealth Report.
