Boom: Blockbuster April Jobs Report Shocks Experts
Economic forecasters were surprised when 2019’s first quarter GDP growth clip surpassed expectations, hitting 3.2 percent in a report published late last month. Would the April jobs numbers put a damper on things by underwhelming the markets? Or might it achieve or even surpass the consensus estimate of 185,000 new jobs? This is a very big win for the US economy and workforce — and it comes, as they so often say, “unexpectedly:”
APRIL JOBS DATA:
+263K jobs added to US economy in April, smashing expectations
3.6 percent unemployment, lowest since Dec. 1969
NOTABLE:
—> 3.1 percent unemployment for adult women… LOWEST for that demographic since 1953. @BloombergTV @BloombergRadio #breaking
— Kevin Cirilli (@kevcirilli) May 3, 2019
Women weren’t the only beneficiaries of this very strong performance:
The national seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for Hispanics and Latinos in the U.S. labor force fell to a record low of 4.2% in April, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday show. In April, the unemployment rate for Hispanics and Latinos, aged 16 and up, was 4.2%, down from 4.7% in March – breaking the record low of 4.3% set two months earlier in February. BLS began tracking Hispanic-Latino employment data in 1973.
Today's new 3.6% unemployment rate should continue the past few years' terrific trend where wages are finally growing at the bottom half – at a rate even faster than the top half. This chart is from Goldman Sachs' recent analysis of BLS data (h/t @JimPethokoukis) (1/2) pic.twitter.com/PQwG2kJDtv
— Brian Riedl (@Brian_Riedl) May 3, 2019
😲 “We expect the unemployment rate to drop toward 3.0% next year, bringing the unemployment rate to levels not reached since the 1950s. If so, wage growth is likely to continue to firm over time.” – Barclays
— James Pethokoukis (@JimPethokoukis) May 3, 2019
I keep hearing people say "sure there's job growth, that's because we're all holding multiple jobs". The reality is that 5% of workers hold multiple jobs and that share has been stable.
— Betsey Stevenson (@BetseyStevenson) May 3, 2019
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