The headline numbers from the July employment report are leading many analysts to call it a "Goldilocks" report- a strong labor market, but not too strong. But, as our Senior Economist Dan North states in his latest North Report, a good report today doesn't tell the whole picture of what is going to happen tomorrow.
Job gains of 187k were less than expectations of 200k, the year-over-year job rate fell from 2.5% to 2.2%, and wage earners are still underwater with inflation rising 17.3% since January 2021, but wages have only risen 12.8%.
There appear to be clouds on the horizon for the economy.