BLS Jobs Report Not What We Wanted
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that there were 199,000 jobs created in November versus the 190,000 forecasted. Revisions to September and October shaved 35,000 jobs in those months combined. The unemployment rate fell from 3.9% to 3.7%.
The Household Survey, where the Unemployment Rate comes from, is considered more real-time because it’s derived by calling households to see if they are employed.
This survey has its own job creation component, which showed 747,000 job gains.
Average hourly earnings were up 0.4% in November, and while that was higher than expected, the year-over-year figure continues to decelerate and now stands at only a 4% increase. This is important as this decline translates to less wage-pressured inflation.
