Attention Economy


Friday, November 3, 2023

Is the US Labor Market Finally Cooling?

BLS on Data Revisions:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised down by 62,000, from +227,000 to +165,000, and the change for September was revised down by 39,000, from +336,000 to +297,000. With these revisions, employment in August and September combined is 101,000 lower than previously reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.)


The Improbably Strong Economy
https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/the-improbably-strong-economy-a5c6bc38
A lot had to go right for the U.S. to avoid a recession. So far, it has.

US Unemployment Rise Is on Verge of Triggering Recession Rule
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-03/us-unemployment-rise-on-verge-of-triggering-sahm-recession-rule
 
My note from July 2023:
https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4121540-traditional-recession-indicators-have-misfired-are-we-in-for-a-sneaky-recession/
The Sahm Rule, another widely-followed recession indicator, is based on the empirical regularity that a recession usually occurs when the three-month moving average of the unemployment rate rises half a point above its 12-month low. But in recent quarters, despite signs of economic softening, firms have tended to hoard labor, potentially distorting labor market signals.