Advanced Materials...January Jobs...Diversity in Corporate America

Insights on markets, industries and the global economy [Goldman Sachs]( [BRIEFINGS] February 06, 2017 Advanced Materials: The DNA of Disruption The same branch of science that brought the world Velcro, plastic and cement is once again breaking boundaries in research and development. Materials science is nearing the point of commercialization for a handful of new and highly advanced resources, from light-emitting diodes that can create flexible smartphone screens to the world's first 2D material, graphene, which is 300 times stronger than steel but only one atom thick. "There's been a long history of materials evolving and changing how we as society interact with the products that use them," says Goldman Sachs Research resources analyst Craig Sainsbury, noting that the latest wave of R&D is driven by the need to make products "faster, stronger, smaller and lighter." In a new video, he discusses advanced materials' potential to improve the efficacy of cancer drugs, increase access to clean water and more. This is the latest video in our Profiles in Innovation series on innovative technologies. Watch additional videos [here](. [Watch video]( SHARE: [twitter]( [facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [email](mailto:?subject=Advanced%20Materials%3a%20The%20DNA%20of%20Disruption&body=http%3a%2f%2fwww.goldmansachs.com%2four-thinking%2fpages%2fadvanced-materials-craig-sainsbury.html) Encouraging Signs in January Jobs The US jobs report for January was "generally encouraging," with 227,000 nonfarm jobs added last month, says Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius. But the unemployment rate ticked up and wages were nearly flat from the prior month, signaling that pressure on labor resources remains moderate after one of the longest economic recoveries since World War II. That muddies the picture slightly for the Fed, Hatzius says, and he and his colleagues now see only a 15% probability that the Federal Reserve will raise rates when the committee next meets in March. Goldman Sachs Research maintains its prediction for three rate increases in 2017, with June, September and December now considered the most likely "live" meetings. [Watch video]( SHARE: [twitter]( [facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [email](mailto:?subject=Encouraging%20Signs%20in%20January%20Jobs&body=http%3a%2f%2fwww.goldmansachs.com%2four-thinking%2fpages%2fjan2017-jobs-report.html) Growth Momentum Builds into 2017 With the help of January payroll gains, US economic growth has continued its steady climb into 2017, building off the momentum gained since September of last year. The Goldman Sachs Current Activity Indicator -- a tool designed to track growth closer to real time than quarterly GDP reporting allows -- logged significant further improvement in January, including the largest contribution from the labor market in over a year (~1 percentage point, see chart). "We have seen a pickup in growth across the key advanced economies from about 1.5% during the summer to 3.1% in January," says Goldman Sachs Research Senior Economist Jari Stehn, though he notes that growth could moderate somewhat as the year goes on. The US led gains among the G4 advanced economies in January, where only the UK saw a decline in growth. Briefly... on Building a Diverse Workforce Goldman Sachs' head of Human Capital Management Edith Cooper shares her thoughts on the importance of building, supporting and leveraging a diverse and inclusive workforce. Has Goldman Sachs succeeded in becoming more diverse? What are some of the challenges that the firm and other corporations face in building a diverse workforce? Edith Cooper: When I look at the students who spend their summers with us, or come to work for us full time, it's a group that's much more diverse than it used to be. So we've made progress. That said, we still have more work to do. We haven't achieved ultimate success because the diversity that exists at the entry levels falls short as people move up in the organization. I'm optimistic, though, that we can change things, because when we pay attention and focus on the specific issues that matter most, we can move the needle. As an example, our new partner class is the most diverse to date with the highest-ever percentage of female partner promotes. And, last summer, we also made changes to our campus recruiting program -- conducting video interviews as a first step, for example -- to broaden the pool of applicants that we see. The results so far have been promising -- on an absolute basis, this year we interviewed more women and more diverse candidates. How else is the firm thinking about diversity? Any takeaways for corporate America? EC: We're trying to recognize that culturally there are differences in the way that people interact with each other -- either positively or (unintentionally) negatively -- that are based on their own experiences. Our brains are wired a certain way because of our own unique experiences. We need to expand the definition of diversity, since the word diversity is not just about gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. An inclusive definition of diversity should encompass all of the different experiences that people have -- whether it means you're coming from a different economic background, are the first person in your family to go to college, or you're the child or parent of someone with an illness or disability. The broader we are in our thinking, the better off we will be. So we're doing things more programmatically to get people to pay attention to "thinking traps" that can get in the way of making critical decisions about our business and our people. We've also gotten much more granular about using data and focusing on certain "breakpoints" -- like, why junior people may leave at a certain point in their careers -- and what, as managers, we can do to prevent that from happening. And we're also creating more opportunities within the firm to have discussions on [race and diversity](. Why is diversity so important to Goldman Sachs and, more broadly, to the private sector? EC: We aren't simply focused on diversity for diversity's sake; as a global company, our ability to compete is dependent upon our workforce reflecting the countries and cultures in which we operate. We can't get too comfortable with thinking that the progress we've made is enough. As leaders, if we don't start adjusting how we think about talent -- not just in America, but globally -- and assessing the way things are done, we're going to get left behind. The success of our firm hinges on having terrific people. And if all the people we hire are exactly the same, we're not going to have the best people and that's what really drives us. [Subscribe]( The data provided in this newsletter is for information purposes only and should not be construed as investment or tax advice nor as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular security. Goldman Sachs believes the data in this newsletter is accurate, but does not verify its accuracy independently and does not warrant or guarantee that it is accurate or complete. Goldman Sachs has no obligation to provide any updates or changes to the data. No investment decisions should be made using this data. 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