unemployement

For every job seeker, there are 1.05 jobs available.

Jobless claims dropped only slightly last week, and unemployment is fairly low at 4.3%. But that might feel different, depending on where you live.

Private-sector employers added 109,000 jobs in April —more than expected, and nearly double what employers added in March, according to the latest report by payroll processor ADP.

A lot of attention is paid to the headline unemployment rate. But the number of “underemployed” workers also offers clues about the health of the labor market.

“The Black unemployment rate has always exceeded other groups,” said CBPP Chief Economist Gbenga Ajilore. “But what's different is that there's a bigger jump, and this is more sustained, and it's more long running.”

Fed Chair Jay Powell said there’s been essentially no job creation in the private sector in the last six months. But unemployment also remains low. What does this mean for the labor market, and the economy?

As inflation accelerates, the job market is slowing. That leaves the Federal Reserve in a dilemma over its dual mandate of stabilizing prices and maximizing employment.

The number of people who have spent six months or more looking for work has been rising.

That’s complicating the Fed’s upcoming decision on what to do with interest rates.

Nationally, the unemployment rate is low, at 4.2%. But it’s much higher in some parts of the country than others.