September Job Growth Exceeds Expectations as Unemployment Falls

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The U.S. added 254,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in September as the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday.

Economists expected 150,000 jobs to be added in September, slightly higher than the initially reported 142,000 job gain in August, and the unemployment rate to remain at 4.2%, according to MarketWatch. Meanwhile, previously reported job gains for July and August were revised up by 55,000 and 17,000, respectively, breaking a trend under the Biden-Harris administration of overestimating employment growth in initial estimates, with the cumulative number of new jobs reported in 2023 roughly 1.3 million less than previously thought.

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Fed Chairman Suggests ‘Influx’ of Migrants Are Contributing to Rising Unemployment

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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested migrants are helping drive rising unemployment during a press conference on Wednesday.

Powell spoke to reporters after the Fed announced it would lower its federal funds rate by 0.50% following disappointing job growth in both July and August. Unemployment currently sits at 4.2% — up from 3.4% in April 2023 — in what Powell suggested was largely a product of migrants crossing into the United States.

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Analysis: Job Openings Collapse to Lowest Level Since 2021

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U.S. labor markets continued showing signs of weakening as job openings fell to 7.6 million in July, the lowest level since Feb. 2021. Job openings are now 4.6 million below their March 2022 high of 12.2 million, a more than 37 percent drop.

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Consumer Prices Rise in Latest Federal Inflation Data

Consumer prices rose again last month after dipping in June, according to newly released federal inflation data.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday released its Consumer Price Index, a key marker of inflation, which showed that consumer prices rose 0.2% in July, part of a 2.9% increase over the past 12 months.

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Analysis: June Unemployment 352,000 Under Biden-Harris, 1.47 Million Unemployed Since 2023

The U.S. unemployment rate once again ticked up in the month of June to 4.3 percent as another 352,000 Americans said they were unemployed, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Markets are crashing in response.

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U.S. Job Growth Slows to a Crawl as Unemployment Rises

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The U.S. added 114,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in July as the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday.

Economists anticipated that the country would add 175,000 jobs in July compared to the 206,000 added in initial estimates for June, and that the unemployment rate would remain stable at 4.1%, according to U.S. News and World Report. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell noted in a press conference on Wednesday that a continued slowdown in the labor market could be a sign of further softening in the economy and contribute to a possible cut to the federal funds rate and an easing in harsh credit conditions that have weighed on Americans.

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Analysis: Federal Fiscal Burden Consumes 93 Percent of America’s Wealth

Based on data from a U.S. Treasury report, the federal government has amassed $142 trillion in debts, liabilities, and unfunded obligations. This staggering figure equals 93% of all the wealth Americans have accumulated since the nation’s founding, estimated by the Federal Reserve to be $152 trillion.

Unlike other measures of federal red ink that cover an arbitrary period, extend into the infinite future, or ignore government resources, the figure of $142 trillion applies strictly to Americans who are alive right now and includes the government’s commercial assets. Thus, it quantifies the financial burden that today’s Americans are leaving to their children and future generations.

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