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A critical labor report meets a stock market at record highs: What to know this week
A critical labor report meets a stock market at record highs: What to know this week
Josh Schafer
Sun, September 29, 2024 at 7:30 AM EDT
7 min read
{snip}
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference on Sept. 18 that the labor market is currently in "solid condition" and the central bank is cutting interest rates, in part, to keep it that way.
Still, there's been a clear slowdown in the labor market. The unemployment rate has steadily crept up in 2024 and sits at 4.2%, near its highest level in almost three years. Meanwhile, job gains have slowed, with the US economy recording two of its lowest monthly job additions of 2024. And job openings in July were at their lowest level since January 2021.
The pressing question as the release of the October jobs report on Friday morning approaches is just how quickly this slowdown in the labor market is taking place.
Consensus expectations on Wall Street point to more signs of a gradual cooling rather than a rapid slowdown. The September jobs report is expected to show 130,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were added to the US economy, with unemployment holding steady at 4.2%, according to data from Bloomberg. In August, the US economy added 142,000 jobs while the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%.
{snip}
Josh Schafer
Sun, September 29, 2024 at 7:30 AM EDT
7 min read
{snip}
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference on Sept. 18 that the labor market is currently in "solid condition" and the central bank is cutting interest rates, in part, to keep it that way.
Still, there's been a clear slowdown in the labor market. The unemployment rate has steadily crept up in 2024 and sits at 4.2%, near its highest level in almost three years. Meanwhile, job gains have slowed, with the US economy recording two of its lowest monthly job additions of 2024. And job openings in July were at their lowest level since January 2021.
The pressing question as the release of the October jobs report on Friday morning approaches is just how quickly this slowdown in the labor market is taking place.
Consensus expectations on Wall Street point to more signs of a gradual cooling rather than a rapid slowdown. The September jobs report is expected to show 130,000 nonfarm payroll jobs were added to the US economy, with unemployment holding steady at 4.2%, according to data from Bloomberg. In August, the US economy added 142,000 jobs while the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%.
{snip}