Jobs hit a whopping 517,000 in January

[badlatitude]

The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4% — the lowest level in over a half-century, the government said on Friday.

Why it matters: Employers added jobs at an unexpectedly rapid pace, the latest sign of a hot labor market despite aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve to cool it down.

• The numbers are more than double the 190,000 forecasters anticipated.

Details: The extraordinary report comes as the Fed continues to dial back its pace of interest rates and prepares to raise rates further to restrain the economy and chill still-high inflation.

• Fed chair Jerome Powell has acknowledged progress on slowing inflation in recent months while noting risks lie ahead. Among them is wage growth, which is rising at a pace still too swift for the Fed's comfort.
• In January, average hourly earnings rose 0.3% — or 4.4% over the previous year, according to Friday's data.
• The big picture: The data also showed that employment in 2022 was even stronger than initially thought, with roughly 568,000 more jobs than previously reported.
  
  • The update was part of the Labor Department's annual revisions, which incorporate more complete data from insurance records and updated seasonal adjustments.
• https://www.axios.com/2023/02/03/us-economy-january-jobs-report-2023

 

[Peter Andersen]

Next week they will say it was a mistake again

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Whoops. Sorry about that, bullshitters. Get busy with the distractions and ramp up the bullshit. Make mommy and daddy proud!

 

[Voyageur]

Next week they will say it was a mistake again

if "they" are your parents, they would be right

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Old confused Joe needs to get us back to the 6.7% unemployment that New York’s Greatest Jeenius left behind.

 

[Raz'r]

Dang, that's too hot. Fed's gonna ratchet up rates again.

 

[Bristol-Cruiser]

Dang, that's too hot. Fed's gonna ratchet up rates again.

Sounds like.

 

[Mike G]

It doesn't really matter what it IS, what matters is what the guy on Fox things it MAY do.

 

[Teener]

Dang, that's too hot. Fed's gonna ratchet up rates again.

Contrarian view would be that the openings are finally getting filled. Disinflation is the new buzzword and we can bet that Powell knew about this employment # before his latest speech. Folks on the sidelines are going back in, either because of fear of missing out or inflation has made it too difficult. The JOLTS number has been way to high for a long time.

 

[Raz'r]

Contrarian view would be that the openings are finally getting filled. Disinflation is the new buzzword and we can bet that Powell knew about this employment # before his latest speech. Folks on the sidelines are going back in, either because of fear of missing out or inflation has made it too difficult. The JOLTS number has been way to high for a long time.

Yes, the possibility is that unemployment is actually understated as there is a shadow work force that could come back into the market. Demographics (lots of workers retiring) doesn't really support that but it's possible.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

 

[giegs]

Wouldn't there still need to be more of a contraction to offset excess deaths, not to mention growth in some sectors? I have a hard time believing companies that allowed cheap money to significantly influence their operations have fully adjusted to the higher rate environment. The rate is still fairly low and the junkies are itchy. Markets are full of coiled springs at the moment.

Jerome Powell was recently overheard asking "How soft does soft have to be for people to think it's actually soft enough to call it soft?"

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

12-million jobs added and 3.4% unemployment, the lowest since 1969.

We’re gonna need a full on bullshitter sharknado of bullshit to distract from this. Spin it up, bullshitters.

 

[pusslicker]

12-million jobs added and 3.4% unemployment, the lowest since 1969.

We’re gonna need a full on bullshitter sharknado of bullshit to distract from this. Spin it up, bullshitters.

They will just default, blame it on the Dems and win the next election. It's the script.

 

[Peter Andersen]

Didnt they add 1.0 million in December?

 

[Grrr...]

Imagine, if you will, someone who is a patriot. In fact, that person is such a giant patriot that he will explain away successes as failures just to avoid giving the other team any positive press. This person will take patriotism to such an extreme that he will essentially cheerlead against his own country. Just to own the libz.

 

[Swimsailor]

Didnt they add 1.0 million in December?

Jesus fucking Christ you're a moron.

 

[giegs]

Didnt they add 1.0 million in December?

Closest is February '22

 

[giegs]

If you compare that to the non-farm openings trend, there are still indications of labor supply not filling existing demand.

Job Openings: Total Nonfarm

Graph and download economic data for Job Openings: Total Nonfarm (JTSJOL) from Dec 2000 to Dec 2022 about job openings, vacancy, nonfarm, and USA.

fred.stlouisfed.org

Anecdotally, I'm having to allocate more resources to training and development to utilize workers coming in with lower baseline skills. That seems to be a common theme with employers, especially if they work primarily with younger folks.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Imagine, if you will, someone who is a patriot. In fact, that person is such a giant patriot that he will explain away successes as failures just to avoid giving the other team any positive press. This person will take patriotism to such an extreme that he will essentially cheerlead against his own country. Just to own the libz.