Employment growth over expectations at 275k jobs added and unemployment up 0.2pp to 3.9%. That unemployment increase is a mix of people losing their jobs, people completing temporary work, and people reentering the labor market.
The economy is doing well. One reason people aren't feeling excited about it? Care is out of reach. W/o "more supports, a 3.7% unemployment rate is cold comfort to most families struggling to make their daily lives work." - @lipstickecon.bsky.socialwww.forbes.com/sites/kateba...
Undoubtedly one of my favorite hot tips for the ASSAs is the LERA sessions breakfast.
Come work with me! The think tank at @rooseveltinstitute.bsky.socialrooseveltinstitute.org/careers/
This month's Jobs Report was very good, but how healthy can the economy feel if a basic need like care is still out of reach and care sector workers are underpaid? My first column as a Forbes contributor on the role of care in the economy: www.forbes.com/sites/kateba...
The care sector explains why many feel precarious in the economy despite another positive monthly Jobs Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
After a big jump in the unemployment rate for Black men up to 6.3% in November data, it has come back down to 4.6% in December data. These changes are not statistically significant and shows how volatile data on minority groups can be. (We need more data by race.)
One of my favorite Jobs Report indicators: 14 instances of the phrases "little changed" or "unchanged" in this month's jobs report. Demonstrative of chugging along. (I think my highest count of this ever was 17 little/unchanged.)
One of the unexpected bright spots in #JobsReport data last year has been continued employment growth in construction, which is typically very sensitive to high interest rates. Other employment growth continues in care sectors like health care, social assistance, and education.