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#US #Employment #Economic News
The pace of #hiring was unexpectedly robust in May, showing a gain of 272k #jobs, but the #unemployment rate ticked up to 4%.
Strong #job growth shows #employers remain undaunted — despite pressure from high #InterestRates & slowing #consumer #spending — & are finding #workers as #immigration has provided a boost to #labor supply.
#Wages were strong: Avg hourly #earnings rose 0.4%, up 4.1% from a year earlier. That was also stronger than expected, since #WageIncreases have been easing since early 2022.
The household survey, from which the #unemployment rate is drawn, showed 408k fewer people #working in May than in April. That data has been out of joint for some time w/the survey of #employers, from which the #JobGrowth figure is tallied, suggesting revisions down the line.
#Services power the gains: #HealthCare again accounted for the most #JobGrowth, adding 68k #jobs. Gov #hiring rebounded from April, adding 43k, as did #leisure & #hospitality, adding 42k.
The data is unlikely to affect the #FederalReserve’s decision next week on #InterestRates, when most economists expect policymakers to leave rates unchanged at their currently high level. #Fed ofcls have noted they are most focused on progress in suppressing inflation#.
In other data released this week, the ratio of #JobOpenings to #unemployed workers in April declined to prepandemic levels after peaking at more than two to one in early 2022. #Employers aren’t #hiring very quickly, but they’re not laying many people off, & #workers are less likely to quit their #jobs than they were in 2019.
The drop in #LaborForce participation came largely from those between the ages of 20–24, declining from 72.4% in April to 70.8% in May.
I don't like how this reads - hiring is up but so is unemployment. That means the net effect is a loss, right? This doesn't feel like the win it reads at first considering the next post talks about future revisions to these numbers.
The American consumer is spending but the Fed is obsessed with killing labor.
@jenzi The jobs report is based on two separate surveys, one of households & one of businesses. The two told very different stories this month: The business survey showed very strong job growth, while the survey of households showed falling employment & rising joblessness.
I mentioned earlier in the thread that there will likely be a revision to the unemployment stat. Perception is more of a factor for household surveys & change in employment status isn’t as fast to update.