US Job Growth

A spike in imports accounts for a large share of the setback, reflecting a scramble by companies to secure goods from overseas ahead of tariffs from the Trump administration

The unemployment rate is forecast at 4.1 per cent amid historically low layoffs, with wages rising solidly

Nonfarm payrolls probably advanced by 200,000 in November, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. The data due Friday are also expected to show the unemployment rate held at 4.1%

Entrepreneur-turned politician Vivek Ramaswamy, who along with Tesla owner Elon Musk has been nominated in-charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, has indicated a massive cut in federal government jobs in the United States. "Elon Musk and I are in a position to start the mass deportations of millions of unelected federal bureaucrats out of the DC bureaucracy. That, too, is how we're going to save this country," Ramaswamy, an Indian American, said at an event in Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Thursday. "I don't know if you've got to know Elon yet, but he doesn't bring a chisel. He brings a chainsaw. We are going to be taking it to that bureaucracy. It's going to be a lot of fun, he said. We've been taught to believe over the last four years that we have become a nation in decline, that we're at the end of the ancient Roman Empire. All we have is to fight over the scraps of some shrinking pie. I don't think we have to stay as that nation in decline. I think with what happened las

The initial payrolls count for August has typically been revised higher over the past decade. Estimates for September's job gains ranged from 70,000 to 220,000

The labour market, however, is likely to experience some brief turbulence after Hurricane Helene devastation

Hiring by America's employers picked up a bit in August from July's sluggish pace, and the unemployment rate dipped for the first time since March in a sign that the job market may be cooling but remains sturdy. Employers added 142,000 jobs last month, up from a scant 89,000 in July, the Labour Department said on Friday. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2 per cent from 4.3 per cent in July, which had been the highest level in nearly three years. Collectively, Friday's figures depict a job market slowing under the pressure of high interest rates but still growing. Many employers are responding to the resilience of consumers, who stepped up their spending in July, even after adjusting for inflation. With inflation falling steadily back to the Federal Reserve's 2 per cent target, the Fed is preparing to cut its key interest rate from a 23-year high. Friday's mixed report on the job market raises the question of how large a cut the Fed will announce after it meets September 17-18.

Job openings have been steadily declining since hitting a record 12.182 mn in March 2022 as demand moderates in response to the Federal Reserve's aggressive interest rate hikes

Financial markets remain optimistic the Fed could start its easing cycle in September after aggressively tightening monetary policy in 2022 and 2023

The labor market is steadily rebalancing in the wake of 525 basis points worth of rate hikes from the U.S. central bank since March 2022 to cool demand in the overall economy

Economists said this could allow the Fed to let the economy to run a little stronger before cutting rates

Average hourly earnings increased 0.6% last month after rising 0.4% in December. In the 12 months through January, wages increased 4.5% after advancing 4.3% in the prior month

The labor market is the major force behind the economy's staying power, with gross domestic product recording an annualized growth pace of nearly 5% in the third quarter

Employers posted 9.6 million job openings in September, up from 9.5 million in August and a sign that the US job market remains strong even as the US Federal Reserve attempts to cool the economy. Layoffs fell to 1.5 million from 1.7 million in August, more evidence that workers enjoy an unusual degree of job security. The number of Americans quitting their jobs a sign of confidence they can find better pay elsewhere was virtually unchanged. The September openings are down from a record 12 million in March 2022 but remain high by historical standards. Before 2021 when the American economy began to surge from the COVID-19 pandemic monthly job openings had never topped 8 million. Unemployment was 3.8 per cent in September, just a couple of ticks above a half century low. Openings were up by 141,000 at hotels and restaurants, which have struggled to attract and keep workers since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. The Federal Reserve's inflation fighters would like to see

Wage growth continued to decelerate. Workers who stayed in their jobs experienced a 6.2% pay increase in July from a year ago, the slowest since November 2021

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended May 20, the Labor Department said

The jobless rate for March slid slightly to 3.5 per cent from February's 3.6 per cent, the data showed

Some of the slowdown in hiring reflected the fading boost from unseasonably mild weather in January and February

Yields are rising in the US bond market Friday following a highly anticipated report on the US job market. The US stock market is closed in observance of Good Friday, as are many markets across Europe. That leaves the US bond market as one of the few open to react to the latest jobs update, which showed hiring lost a bit more momentum than expected last month but largely remained resilient. The data was so anticipated because it could offer a big clue for the Federal Reserve, which faces a tough decision on interest rates that will affect the entire economy. Should it keep raising rates in order to drive down inflation that's still high? Or should it hold off given all the signs of slowing across the economy and stress in the banking system that's already been caused by the past year's swift surge in rates? The immediate reaction from the bond market Friday morning seemed to lean toward another hike. Not only did yields rise for Treasurys, so did bets for the Fed to raise rates by

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast job growth of 205,000