What’s Driving Rising Business Costs?
Summary
The Liberty Street Economics post analyzes 2025 cost pressures facing New York–New Jersey region firms, highlighting sharp increases in employee health insurance and utilities (driven in part by AI data-center energy use), plus rising business insurance and goods/materials costs. Tariffs contribute but are not the sole driver, and cost growth is expected to moderate in 2026. The piece uses regional business surveys and points to follow-up analyses on health-insurance costs and pricing behavior, offering data and charts for budgeting and automation ROI considerations.