The Canadian labor market continued to blow past expectations, adding 150,000 jobs in January despite mounting recession concerns, Statistics Canada reported on Friday. Robust job gains combined with the unemployment rate holding steady near a record low at 5% should push the expectations of a ... READ MORE >
Tuan Nguyen
Jobless claims rise, but remain below pre-pandemic level
New jobless claims increased for the first time in six weeks, yet they remained under the pre-pandemic level despite a significant recent increase in layoff announcements. New filings for unemployment benefits increased by 7.1% to 196,000 for the week ending Feb. 4, the Labor Department ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims remain below the pre-pandemic level
New filings for jobless benefits continued to defy market expectations, falling to 183,000 last week from 186,000 a week earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday. New jobless claims, which are a proxy for layoffs, remained below the pre-pandemic level of 218,000 for the fifth week ... READ MORE >
Job openings rise again in December, adding to pressure on the Fed
Labor demand surged again in December after two consecutive drops, according to government data released on Wednesday hours ahead of the Federal Reserve's rate decision. The number of job vacancies jumped to 11 million in December from 10.4 million, mostly driven by seasonal-related categories like ... READ MORE >
Canadian economy grew by 0.1% in November
Canada’s gross domestic product edged up by 0.1% in November, the same rate of growth as October, as tightened monetary policies continued to slow the economy. For last three months of 2022, average growth was 1.6% annualized, down from 2.9% in the previous quarter, Statistics Canada reported on ... READ MORE >
Labor costs slow, setting the stage for smaller Fed rate hike
Labor costs decelerated in the last quarter of 2022, adding to the justification for the Federal Reserve to slow its rate increases to 25 basis points after its meeting on Wednesday. The index showed that labor cost growth fell to 1.0% on a quarterly basis, and to 5.1% on a year-ago basis for all ... READ MORE >
American consumers grow more cautious as spending falls
American consumers pulled back on their spending for the second month in a row in December amid a continuing economic slowdown and elevated inflation. Also contributing to the decline were weak income growth and the decreasing stock of excess savings. Spending fell by 0.2% in dollar terms and by 0.3% ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims fall despite layoff news
New filings for unemployment benefits fell to a 10-month low last week, a stark contrast to the recent spike in reports of job losses at prominent companies. There were 186,000 new claims added, the fourth week in a row that new claims were below the pre-pandemic average, according to Labor Department ... READ MORE >
U.S. GDP: Resilient growth closes out a challenging year
A resilient American economy grew by 2.9% during the final three months of last year because of a strong increase in demand for services by consumers, fixed business investment and inventory restocking. Overall gross domestic product for the full year increased by 2.1% on an annualized basis and by ... READ MORE >
Back-to-normal supply chain fuels disinflation tailwind
Supply chains in the United States continued to recover in December, remaining at the pre-COVID level for the sixth straight month as most of the damage from the pandemic has now faded, according to the RSM US Supply Chain Index. The recovery in supply chains has been one of the most important factors ... READ MORE >