While that figures is symbolically significant, it is not economically significant. Most investors and economists focus on other metrics, like the Debt to GDP ration, a better sense of an country’s borrowing ability.
But, $40 trillion is a big number, and will draw attention to an unsustainable fiscal trajectory.
(August 19, 2026) Versant Funding LLC is pleased to announce that it has funded a $1 Million non-recourse factoring facility for a well-established service providers that works with major hospital systems.
This private equity-owned company had an imminent, short-term cash need. Its management realized that factoring a subset of their accounts receivable due from financially strong hospitals could be a source of immediate liquidity without requiring their sponsor to invest more capital into the operation.
“Versant can fund faster than most traditional financing sources because we focus solely on the credit quality of our clients’ customers and do not perform a full underwriting or audit of the business” according to Chris Lehnes, Business Development Officer for Versant Funding, and originator of this financing opportunity. “Since this company’s customers include major health networks, we quickly approved the transaction and were able to meet the company’s funding deadline.”
About Versant Funding
Versant Funding’s custom Non-Recourse Factoring Facilities have been designed to fill a void in the market by focusing exclusively on the credit quality of a company’s accounts receivable. Versant Funding offers non-recourse factoring solutions to companies with B2B or B2G sales from $100,000 to $30 Million per month. All we care about is the credit quality of the A/R. To learn more contact: Chris Lehnes | 203-664-1535 | clehnes@VersantFunding.com
Job Growth: The U.S. labor market lost jobs in July, an surprising contraction likely to reignite questions about the economy’s strength when it is also facing elevated inflation.
The latest U.S. Department of Labor report showed that the economy lost 23k jobs in July, a large shortfall undercutting the gain of 83k that economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected.
Revisions to prior month results showed that the economy added 103k fewer jobs in May and June.
The unemployment rate reduced to 4.1%, from 4.2% in June, even though fewer people were working due to even more individuals existing the workforce.
In yet another troubling sign for the labor market, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that it revised down the prior two months by a combined 103,000. May’s jobs total was cut by 66,000 to 129,000 total jobs added, while June’s total was lowered by 37,000 to a total gain of 57,000.
Economists had been expecting wages to continue pacing at 3.5% from a year ago, but instead wage growth slowed.
“The labor market is stalling again,” wrote Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, who called the report “bleak.”
The BLS said employment contracted the most in “local government education,” which declined by 50,000 roles, likely reflecting teachers during summer break. It also flagged a contraction of 19,000 roles in the retail industry. The financial industry shed 14,000 roles.
The agency’s data also showed a 5,000 payroll gain in the manufacturing sector in July and an additional 22,000 roles in construction. These bright spots come as the AI data center boom has benefited some industries, but deeply divided many communities where the centers are located.
Friday’s report likely eases some pressure on the Federal Reserve, which had been widely expected to hike the federal funds rate — potentially as soon as September.
A “Side Hustle” Economy Not a Small Business Boom While 2025 saw a record 6 million new business applications, 70% were identified by the Census Bureau as “likely non-employers.” Only 1.7 million actually intend to hire paid employees [53:18].
The Founder Obsession: Scott argues this isn’t an entrepreneurial boom, but rather young people disillusioned by corporate jobs starting side gigs. This trend is highlighted by a 69% surge in users adding the title “Founder” to their LinkedIn profiles [01:07:03].
Career Advice: Scott strongly advises young professionals against romanticizing entrepreneurship, noting that the fastest and safest path to wealth is often joining an established, fast-growing corporation as an early employee (e.g., employee 10 to 1,000) rather than taking on the brutal emotional and financial toll of starting a company from scratch [01:01:09].
According to the Census Bureau, Americans filed nearly 6 million applications to start new businesses last year. While that is the most on record, the data doesn’t tell the whole story. Only 1.7 million of those applications were identified as high-propensity businesses, meaning they actually intend to hire paid employees. The vast majority of the applications were for entrepreneurs with no plans to hire anyone.
This really grabbed my attention because I’ve been seeing arguments that we are in the midst of a small business boom. I was ready to run with it—it’s a reason to be optimistic. The number of new business applications has exploded, up 10% year-over-year to hit record highs, and this trend has continued into the first half of this year. However, most of these businesses are categorized as “likely non-employer businesses,” meaning they have a very low likelihood of producing actual payrolls.
The Census Bureau uses a methodology that looks at indicators like, Have you indicated that you’re hiring?, Have you provided a first wages-paid date?, and Are you in an industry with strong employment demand? It turns out that more than 70% of these new businesses we were supposed to be celebrating are likely non-employers. This seems like a bit of a fake boom.
This blew me away. In terms of how the sausage gets made here, we do editorial calls where analysts pitch stories, and I comment on them, and our producer decides what we’ll cover. This story just blew my mind because I have this whole “AI optimist” pitch, and one of my favorite stats is that new business formation is at a record high. This data completely punctured that argument because, once again, numbers can be misleading. Six million new business applications sounds like a renaissance of the American entrepreneurial spirit. But, as you pointed out, only 1.7 million (about 30%) were high-propensity.
The other 4 million-plus applications represent one person, a laptop, and an LLC. When you try to start a restaurant, you’re going to hire 10, 20, or 30 people. When you’re starting a food blog as a side hustle, that’s not exactly great for the employment market. What the data actually shows is that this isn’t a small business boom; it’s a side-hustle economy dressed up in Census Bureau language.
In some ways, it probably reflects something unhealthy about the economy. One in three adults says they are planning a business or side hustle in 2026, which is up 94% year-over-year. There’s something very good about that, but the question is: is it entrepreneurial confidence, or economic anxiety wearing a founder’s hoodie? People aren’t starting these companies because times are good; they’re hedging because they can’t afford to pay their rent with their main job. This is one of those times I realized I don’t know what I don’t know, and this supposed new business boom isn’t really a boom at all.
I think this is an important data point, and I want to clarify it for everyone: 70% of these new businesses are likely non-employers according to the census. If you compare this to the mid-2000s, the share of likely non-employer businesses has doubled. So yes, we are seeing new businesses, but most of them are not actually contributing to the broader economy.
Why is this happening? One theory is the rise of the AI-enabled solopreneur—that AI allows you to form your own business easily. That might be part of it, but this trend began way before AI. It exploded during COVID, where suddenly, all of these non-employer businesses skyrocketed. Another theory is that more people are self-employed now—they quit their jobs and are running solo companies. But if you look at the self-employment rate, the number of self-employed Americans is actually down significantly over the past few years.
This leads me to one logical conclusion: these are mostly side gigs. It’s someone who is bored at work. They are still employed and working remotely, but they want to start a lifestyle brand, make an Instagram account, or write a Substack. If they get really excited, they might create an LLC. But to be clear, that’s not a business that is contributing to the economy. It’s essentially a hobby and a legitimized vehicle to express yourself out of the boredom you feel at your actual job.
This is becoming a real trend, especially among young people, because they are so disillusioned by the notion of traditional work—being an employee and receiving a wage. It reflects that philosophy of ‘don’t be a wage slave, start your own business, be an entrepreneur, be a hustler.’ The entrepreneurship mindset has become such a hot topic in our digital, social media-driven world that we are all fantasizing about it. People create these little side hustles so they can say, ‘I’m an entrepreneur now.’ But in reality, you aren’t, because you still work for a company and you aren’t generating a livable income off the side business that supposedly makes you a founder.”
Versant funding
Food processing companies can fund their growth using the cash provided by accounts receivable factoring. Contact Chris at Versant Funding to learn if your client is a fit for factoring. Factoring can also meet the cash needs of staffing companies looking to expand. Contact Factoring Specialist Chris Lehnes to learn if your staffing client is a factoring fit.
Factoring is a vital source of funding for businesses. Many of your clients may not be eligible for traditional bank financing, but have an immediate need for cash.
We focus on the quality of your client’s accounts receivable, ignoring their financial condition.
Under our non-recourse program, we take all the credit risk associated with your clients’ accounts receivable.
This enables us to move quickly and fund qualified businesses including Manufacturers, Distributors and a wide variety of Service Businesses – including SaaS – in as few as 3-5 days.
Factoring Program Overview
$100,000 to $30 Million
Quick Advance Against AR
No Audits
No Financial Covenants
No Long-Term Commitment
Most businesses with strong customers are eligible
The June 2026 Jobs Report: A Labor Market Hitting the Brakes
The latest U.S. jobs numbers dropped this morning, and they’ve thrown a bit of cold water on the summer economic outlook. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added just 57,000 jobs in June 2026. This comes in far below Wall Street’s expectations of roughly 110,000 to 115,000 jobs, marking a significant cooldown after three months of stronger-than-expected hiring.
Here is a breakdown of what you need to know about the June report, where the jobs are going, and what it means for the broader economy.
The Headline Numbers
At first glance, the data presents a mixed bag. Job growth is slowing, yet the unemployment rate actually ticked downward.
Metric
June 2026 Reality
What Was Expected
New Jobs Added
57,000
~115,000
Unemployment Rate
4.2%
4.3%
Wage Growth (YoY)
3.5%
N/A
Why did unemployment fall if hiring slowed? It comes down to labor force participation. The unemployment rate dropped from 4.3% in May to 4.2% in June primarily because roughly 720,000 people left the labor force entirely. When people stop actively looking for work, they are no longer counted as “unemployed.” This dynamic can artificially drag the headline rate down even in a sluggish hiring environment.
Where the Jobs Are (And Aren’t)
The June report highlighted a stark divergence between sectors. The stalwarts are still hiring, but consumer-facing industries are feeling the pinch.
The Winners: Professional and business services led the pack, adding 36,000 new positions. Healthcare and social assistance also continued their long-term growth trend, adding 22,000 and 25,000 jobs respectively, though healthcare hiring has slowed slightly from its 12-month average.
The Losers: The biggest surprise was in leisure and hospitality, which shed 61,000 jobs. Many economists anticipated a strong summer hiring surge fueled by traditional vacations and the World Cup being hosted in the U.S., but early optimistic hiring seems to have been scaled back.
Downward Revisions: Adding to the softer picture, the Labor Department revised April and May’s job totals downward by a combined 74,000 jobs. May’s initially robust report of 172,000 new jobs was walked back to just 129,000.
What This Means for the Fed and Your Wallet
The central question on everyone’s mind is how this impacts inflation and interest rates. With inflation recently hitting a three-year high of 4.2% (partly driven by the geopolitical ripple effects of the ongoing conflict in Iran), the Federal Reserve under new Chair Kevin Warsh has been walking a tightrope.
Prior to this report, markets were bracing for the Fed to raise interest rates as soon as October to combat rising prices. However, a labor market that is clearly shifting down in momentum gives the Fed a bit of breathing room. Traders are now scaling back those expectations, betting that the central bank might hold off on rate hikes until December.
For the average worker, the job market has become a “low-hire, low-fire” environment. Layoffs remain relatively low, but companies aren’t bringing on new talent at the frantic pace seen in recent years. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings rose by 0.3% in June, bringing the annual increase to 3.5%. Unfortunately, with inflation outpacing that wage growth, many households are still feeling their purchasing power diminish.
The Bottom Line The labor market is still holding steady, but the engine is definitely decelerating. We are transitioning away from a job hopper’s market into a phase where both employers and employees are staying put, watching the inflation data, and waiting to see what the Fed does next.
Google Business Profile: Search Performance Review
As an AI assisting with Versant Funding’s digital strategy, I do not have direct access to our private Google Business Profile backend to pull live search metrics. However, based on our established role as experts in factoring and liquidity solutions, I have analyzed our market positioning to provide a targeted framework of our expected search performance and actionable next steps.
Current Visibility & Keyword Trends
Our core strength lies in focusing exclusively on the credit quality of our clients’ accounts receivable. Evaluating our search visibility means looking closely at the high-intent keywords that drive our ideal prospects to our profile.
“Non-recourse factoring companies”: This aligns directly with our primary offering of full-notification, non-recourse factoring.
“Immediate working capital Boca Raton”: Capturing local search intent near our Boca Raton, Florida headquarters is vital for establishing regional authority.
“Factoring for manufacturers”: We recently funded a $1.4 million non-recourse factoring facility for a manufacturer. Tracking this query helps us measure the ongoing momentum from that deal.
“Alternative business financing”: Businesses navigating the shifting trade and tax landscape under the current federal administration are increasingly looking for non-traditional liquidity outside of standard bank loans.
Simulated Search Performance Metrics (Q3 2026)
While these specific numbers are simulated for strategic planning, they represent the typical digital foot traffic for a highly specialized B2B factoring firm in the current economic environment.
Metric
Simulated Trend
Strategic Insight
Total Profile Views
Up 15%
There is growing demand for alternative financing as companies adapt to current market conditions.
Direct Searches
Stable
Clients are specifically looking for Versant Funding based on our industry reputation for complete transparency.
Discovery Searches
Up 22%
Prospects are actively searching for “difficult deal experts” rather than searching for us by name.
Website Clicks
Up 10%
Prospects are showing high intent to learn about our $100,000 to $30,000,000 per month factoring range.
Calls Made
Up 5%
Businesses are urgently inquiring about our prompt funding process that often closes within one week.
Strategic Outreach & Content Recommendations
Based on these insights and our core capabilities, here is how we should adapt our upcoming content and client outreach:
Highlight Manufacturer Success Stories: We should publish targeted case studies detailing our recent $1.4 million non-recourse facility. We need to emphasize that our facilities can grow automatically with accounts receivable balances and essentially have no cap.
Target “Difficult Deals”: We must create content speaking directly to businesses with balance sheet issues, historic losses, or poor credit. We are acknowledged experts in helping companies that struggle to obtain traditional bank financing.
Update GBP Attributes: We must ensure our Google Business Profile prominently displays our ability to provide same-day funding and non-recourse factoring. We should also highlight that we can handle maximum factoring amounts up to $30,000,000.
Economic Adaptation Content: We should release thought leadership pieces on how businesses can utilize invoice factoring to accelerate cash flow while navigating the current administration’s evolving economic policies.
