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Signs point to a labor market that's cooling, but not cold

Mar 6, 2024
Private employers added 140,000 jobs in February and January’s job openings didn’t budge — though they were down from mid-2023.
In December and January, the economy added nearly 700,000 new jobs.
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Corporate profits have been trending down. That's what the Federal Reserve wants to see.

Nov 28, 2023
It means interest rate hikes are having the intended effect. Tapering consumer demand and high labor costs are weighing on earnings.
Corporate profits are feeling the effects of high interest rates and labor costs as well as weaker consumer demand.
Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images

Is slowing wage growth good news for inflation?

Oct 31, 2023
But recent union victories may keep upward pressure on wages.
The Federal Reserve wants wage growth to slow because if employers spend more on labor, they'll likely try to make up that profit by raising prices.
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September's real wages are expected to rise

Oct 9, 2023
And that would mean your paycheck's purchasing power would be getting a boost relative to inflation.
Rising real wages means consumers are "making up for the consumption power that they lost when prices were rising faster than wages," says Erica Groshen, former Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner.
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The job market might finally be returning to "normal," economists say

Oct 5, 2023
Experts are predicting a slight decrease in wage growth, a drop that get us closer to pre-pandemic rates.
New September job market data comes out Friday, and economists expect we'll see a little less payroll growth than in August.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Businesses are telling the Federal Reserve they think wage gains are subsiding

Sep 8, 2023
That could be a sign that the Fed's interest rate hikes are working and the economy is cooling.
Though wage growth has been falling, inflation has been falling even faster.
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Wage growth may be slowing after period of strong gains

Aug 28, 2023
Reports from companies and job search sites indicate that employers are lowering the pay they offer for newly posted jobs.
Small businesses aren’t adding jobs as quickly as they did last year, which is translating into weaker wage growth, noted economist Luke Pardue at Gusto.
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For public good, not for profit.

Wage growth may be slowing, but consumers still have the power to spend

Jul 28, 2023
Wages are rising faster than prices. So on average, people’s purchasing power is increasing.
Purchasing power has increased because prices have been rising more slowly, said economist Preston Mui.
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Slowing wage increases are good news for the Fed, but bad news for workers

Jun 7, 2023
Wages are falling fastest at the bottom of the income distribution.
Both wage growth and the number of job openings are slowing, according to jobsite Indeed.
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Fewer people are leaving their jobs. What's that mean for the economy?

Jun 1, 2023
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover report for April showed that the quits rate has dropped back to average levels in 2019.
U.S. unemployment claims rose slightly last week and the quits rate declined in April, suggesting a softer labor market.
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