BY: JOHN CARNEY 5 May 2023
in

Still Overheating: The U.S. Economy Added 253,000 Jobs in April, Unemployment Dipped to 3.4%

The U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.

Economists had forecast employers would grow payrolls by 178,000, a downturn from the preliminary March estimate of 236,000. The unemployment rate was expected to pick up to 3.6 percent from 3.5 percent.

The March estimate was revised down to 165,000.

The labor market has been stronger than expected for several months, defying expectations that interest rate increases would push unemployment up. The Federal Reserve has been trying to cool off demand for workers as part of its efforts to bring inflation back down to its two percent target. On Wednesday, the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate to a range of five percent to 5.25 percent and signaled it could pause rate hikes at subsequent meetings.

The Labor Department’s Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey, knowns as Jolts, showed that there were 9.590 million job openings at the end of March, down from 9.974 million and 10.5643 million in the two prior months. Fed chairman Jerome Powell said at a press conference on Wednesday that the decline in job openings unaccompanied by a rise in unemployment held out the possibility that the central bank could bring down inflation without a serious rise in joblessness.

Initial jobless claims for the week that ended last Wednesday came in at 242,000, above the consensus expectation for 238,000. Continuing claims, however, declined. Initial claims, which are a proxy for layoffs, coming in below 250,000 is considered an indicator of a robust demand for workers, a level consistent with the normal churn of the economy rather than a downturn.

4 Comments

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  1. When unemployment benefits expire the unemployed are officially no longer counted. Crime rate can be zero as soon as they decriminalize everything.. Stop counting the unemployed would had a job before vivid , don’t count the people who work 4 jobs to get food and pay the rent.

  2. This is ridiculous. He is ‘touting’ a rise in employment, like it is NEW jobs. Not true. People have just discovered it is better to EARN what you get, by working — because no one gives anything to anyone, [except to the illegals]. And that is paid for by ALL of us -we the people’. It’s not ‘racism’ that is the issue. It is inactivity-such as working!! There are NO new jobs- due to crime; businesses are closing & some have been burned out by ANGRY protesters. IF they would spend as much time doing positive things as they spend yelling, screaming & burning– they would be a lot more ‘contented’. And, if they were paying attention, they would know it’ is NOT a Repbulican issue, either. the democRAT party is trying to destroy us ALL!!!! The dem’s are rooting for China!

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