![](https://i.imgur.com/CLvY2jA.png")
03-06-2023, 03:54 PM
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
yesterday
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations
......
unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, from a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. It’s the highest unemployment rate since October.
......
IS THE LABOR MARKET AS STRONG AS THE GAIN OF 339,000 JOBS SUGGESTS?
Probably not. In May, employers added the most jobs since January. So the overall picture is an encouraging one. Yet there are signs that hiring is cooling from the super-heated levels of the past two years.
For one thing, the length of the average work week declined, to 34.3 hours from 34.4 in April. That is a seemingly small drop, but economists said it’s equivalent to cutting several hundred thousand jobs. It means that, on average, weekly paychecks will be slightly smaller. The average work week is down from 34.6 hours a year ago.
......
IS THE ECONOMY HEADED FOR A RECESSION?
Not likely anytime soon. The strong, steady job growth of the past several months shows that the economy remains in solid shape despite the Fed’s interest rate hikes
......
DOES THAT MEAN THE ECONOMY IS IN THE CLEAR?
Not necessarily. Some cracks in the economy’s foundations have emerged. Home sales have tumbled. A measure of factory activity showed that manufacturing has contracted for seven straight months.
And consumers are showing signs of straining to keep up with higher prices. The proportion of Americans who are struggling to stay current on their credit card and auto loan debt rose in the first three months of this year
Sales at several retail companies, including discount chain Dollar General and department store Macy’s, have weakened. That indicates that lower-income consumers, in particular, are feeling squeezed by high inflation.
......
WHY DID THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISE?
The government’s jobs report is derived from two separate surveys that are conducted each month. One survey covers businesses, the other households. The survey of businesses is used to calculate the job gain (or loss). The household survey, which asks people if they’ve done work for pay in the past month, determines the unemployment rate.
In May, the surveys diverged: Households reported an actual loss of jobs, while the survey of businesses found a sharp gain.
......
One key reason for the divergence is that, according to the household survey, the number of self-employed people fell by 369,000 from April to May. Self-employed workers are counted in the survey of households but not in the survey of businesses.
https://apnews.com/article/jobs-unemploy...66e3a20af4
yesterday
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations
......
unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, from a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. It’s the highest unemployment rate since October.
......
IS THE LABOR MARKET AS STRONG AS THE GAIN OF 339,000 JOBS SUGGESTS?
Probably not. In May, employers added the most jobs since January. So the overall picture is an encouraging one. Yet there are signs that hiring is cooling from the super-heated levels of the past two years.
For one thing, the length of the average work week declined, to 34.3 hours from 34.4 in April. That is a seemingly small drop, but economists said it’s equivalent to cutting several hundred thousand jobs. It means that, on average, weekly paychecks will be slightly smaller. The average work week is down from 34.6 hours a year ago.
......
IS THE ECONOMY HEADED FOR A RECESSION?
Not likely anytime soon. The strong, steady job growth of the past several months shows that the economy remains in solid shape despite the Fed’s interest rate hikes
......
DOES THAT MEAN THE ECONOMY IS IN THE CLEAR?
Not necessarily. Some cracks in the economy’s foundations have emerged. Home sales have tumbled. A measure of factory activity showed that manufacturing has contracted for seven straight months.
And consumers are showing signs of straining to keep up with higher prices. The proportion of Americans who are struggling to stay current on their credit card and auto loan debt rose in the first three months of this year
Sales at several retail companies, including discount chain Dollar General and department store Macy’s, have weakened. That indicates that lower-income consumers, in particular, are feeling squeezed by high inflation.
......
WHY DID THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE RISE?
The government’s jobs report is derived from two separate surveys that are conducted each month. One survey covers businesses, the other households. The survey of businesses is used to calculate the job gain (or loss). The household survey, which asks people if they’ve done work for pay in the past month, determines the unemployment rate.
In May, the surveys diverged: Households reported an actual loss of jobs, while the survey of businesses found a sharp gain.
......
One key reason for the divergence is that, according to the household survey, the number of self-employed people fell by 369,000 from April to May. Self-employed workers are counted in the survey of households but not in the survey of businesses.
https://apnews.com/article/jobs-unemploy...66e3a20af4
