Despite a net increase in total employment of 678,000 and a decline in the unemployment rate to 3.8% in February, the improvement in the American labor market is now in the rearview mirror as the impact of geopolitical tensions, searing economic sanctions, rising inflation and surging oil prices sets ... READ MORE >
unemployment
Chart of the day: New jobless claims continue to fall
Initial jobless claims fell for the third straight week as the labor market recovers from the omicron surge. New filings for jobless benefits dropped by 16,000 to 223,000 for the week ending Feb. 5 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The ... READ MORE >
U.S. January jobs report shows strong gains and significant upward revisions
The American labor market remained red hot in January and that strength will stimulate a discussion of faster interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve at its March meeting. The net increase of 467,000 in total employment on the back of a significant upward revision to the December estimate, from ... READ MORE >
U.S. jobs preview: Stick a giant omicron asterisk on the January report
The omicron variant has almost surely created significant distortions in the American workforce that will become evident when the jobs report for January is released on Friday. Investors, policymakers and firm managers should essentially write off the report as a one-time set of noise that will not ... READ MORE >
Initial U.S. jobless claims exceed pre-pandemic level as omicron variant sets in
New filings for U.S. jobless benefits last week rose to 230,000 from 207,000 the week before, exceeding the average pre-pandemic level for the first time in six weeks as the impact of the omicron variant began to be felt in the labor market. The unexpected increase in new claims was also influenced by ... READ MORE >
U.S. December jobs report: Economy has strongest year of job creation on record
Recovery, resilience and reimagination are apt descriptions of the American economy two years into a debilitating pandemic. Like a bruised prizefighter in the late rounds of a championship match, the American economy closed the year on a strong note by adding 199,000 jobs in December. Once one ... READ MORE >
December jobs report preview: Expect the unemployment rate to fall to 4.1%
We expect a net gain in total employment of 475,000 jobs and a decline in the unemployment rate to 4.1% when the jobs report for December is published on Friday. Strong job creation in higher-paying jobs in goods production, construction, manufacturing, business services and the financial sector ... READ MORE >
Monetary and fiscal policy in a changing economy: Meeting the Fed’s full employment mandate
This is the first of four articles examining monetary and fiscal policy and the Federal Reserve’s response to the overriding issues of today’s economy. This article examines the Fed’s challenge in meeting its mandate for full employment. The second looks at the Fed’s other mandate, for price stability. ... READ MORE >
Initial jobless claims fall to 52-year low amid labor shortages
New filings for jobless benefits dropped to the lowest level since 1969 last week as robust labor demand continued to leave businesses with no choice but to hold on to their workers. The claims fell to 184,000 for the week ending Dec. 4, down from 227,000 in the previous week, according to Labor ... READ MORE >
Canada employment steady as more sectors return to pre-pandemic levels
Canada’s economy continued its gradual recovery as the unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in October, the fifth month of decline in a row, according to data released Friday by Statistics Canada. Canada added 31,200 jobs on the month, little changed from the previous month and a signal that the economy is ... READ MORE >