On Friday, the Labor Department officially released its hiring and unemployment figures for September, giving insight to how the American economy is doing.
So How Do The Numbers Look?
- 134,000 jobs were added last month. Wall Street economists had expected an increase of about 168,000, according to MarketWatch.
- Unemployment rate was at 3.7 percent, which is the lowest it has been since 1969.
- Average earnings rose 8 cents an hour and is up 2.8 percent over the past year.
- In terms of hiring figures for July and August, they were revised up by a combined 87,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate is the lowest it has been since 1969. It fell to nearly five-decade low in September, signaling the rebound in the ten years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers which set off the global financial crisis.
While we are seeing increases, the 134,000 jobs that were added in September show a much slower pace of growth in a year. In addition, the growth of wages slightly went down from August.
While those figures show things may be slowing down, that isn’t likely the case. The figures we received on Friday shows continuous growth to eight straight years. What we’re seeing and have seen shows us that today’s labor market is the strongest it has been since the late 1990s and early 2000s.
African-Americans, Latinos and members of other groups that have often seen discrimination are experiencing some of the lowest rates of joblessness so far. “I view this as the strongest labor market in a generation,” said Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at the career site Glassdoor. “These really are the good times.”
While we are seeing increased growth in wages and opportunities, policy makers at the Federal Reserve are consistently watching for signs that the economy may be “overheating.” In other words, they’re watching out for signs of faster inflation in the future. If the Federal Reserve continues to have concerns, we may see continuous rise in interest rates a lot quicker than anticipated.
“I think the Fed’s going to really like this report,” said Michelle Meyer, head of United States economics for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “This report will not prompt them to have to make the hard decision to think about going faster” on rate hikes.
The economy is strong right now, which is what Republicans are counting on for a potential “blue wave” of Democratic takeover in both House and Senate. President Trump touted the low unemployment rate, making a case that his policies are working, as seen on Twitter.
Just out: 3.7% Unemployment is the lowest number since 1969!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2018
