The Fed’s labor market index aims to give a bigger picture of the economy

The Fed today publishes its Labor Market Conditions Index for the month of April. The release follows Friday’s news that the unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent last month, near a 10-year low. The index, which Janet Yellen started releasing publicly in 2014, goes further than just looking at the unemployment rate and payroll job gains. It also provides a wide view of the labor market that the Fed watches for one of the two mandates. So how’s it working, and what valuable information about the health of the economy does it tell us?

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