The Clap
The labor market continued to show its strength as the unemployment rate, now at 3.6%, is nearing a pre-pandemic low.
The deets
The unemployment rate fell from 3.8% to 3.6%. The fall comes after 431,000 nonfarm jobs were restored in March 2022, & February’s figures were revised from 678,000 jobs added to 750,000.
Some sectors are even reporting employment levels above those pre-pandemic. But overall, employment is currently 1.6 million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels.
What this means
Low unemployment means more people combatting supply chain disruptions, but it also means higher inflation. When unemployment is low, more consumers have income to purchase goods, raising demand, followed by prices. But guess what? The Fed is already prepared to be aggressive in the face of sky-high inflation, & low unemployment is only strengthening the case for a 0.5% interest rate hike in the next Fed meeting.
