Latest Economic News

The economy added a massive 303,000 jobs in March, far beyond expectations of 200,000. The increase easily outpaced gains over much of the last year and tied for the highest in 11 months.

Unlike other recent employment reports, there were few caveats. The rest of the report was just as sparking as the headline. 

Much of December’s data showed the golden combination of slowing inflation and strong growth.

January’s data put a bit of tarnish on that gold as conditions reversed: inflation was hotter than expected and growth was cooler than expected.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its December meeting. However, the Fed's estimate of where the Fed Funds rate will be at the end of 2024 was marked down significantly from 5.1% to now 4.6%.

That implies three 25 bps cuts next year, and is a significant shift in monetary policy and signals a more rapid easing than previously thought. 

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for October showed a weakening labor market. 

Job openings fell in October -6.6% m/m, declining from 9.350M to 8.733M. It was the lowest level of the post pandemic era, and it was well below expectations of 9.3M.