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How to best navigate the jobs and housing markets: Wealth!

On today's episode of Wealth!, Host Brad Smith breaks down top personal finance tips amid a slow labor market a housing affordability crisis. The US Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reported a decline in April job openings to 8.06 million from 8.355 million, the lowest level since February 2021. Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick says that the print "is pretty consistent with what we expect in the context of a job market and a broader economy that are normalizing after the disruption, the volatility, the distortions associated with the pandemic." Meanwhile, the housing market continues to face an affordability crisis. Yahoo Finance's Dani Romero explains how high mortgage rates and low inventory levels are putting pressure on homebuyers in a tight market. As a new survey reveals that 91% of Gen Z adults view housing affordability is their top voting issue, Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather discusses how homebuyers should navigate the current market. She urges homebuyers to ensure they can afford their mortgages in the short term, explaining, "You shouldn't bank on rates coming down as part of your financial plan because they may not come down or they may not come down as quickly as you were hoping." Another major part of financial planning is emergency funds, which one in five Americans lack, according to Bankrate. Self Financial Head of Community and Financial Expert Monique White breaks down how you can prepare for an emergency without sacrificing your everyday needs, laying out the building blocks of a savings plan and urging everyone to start saving as soon as possible. Family Office Investor Rashaun Williams highlights how index funds are a great place to start when investing, emphasizing the growth of the tech sector amid a "very risky" market. This post was written by Melanie Riehl