By Tom Burnett CFA On December 8, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the Employment Report for November, 2023. Employment rose by 199,000 jobs to 158.4 million workers, up 2.8 million from one year ago. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7% from 3.9% in the prior month. This rate has been below…
By Tom Burnett CFA On November 14, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its CPI report for October. The CPI was unchanged for the month, after increasing by 0.4% in September. The October figure was the smallest since December 2022. Over the past 12 months, the CPI rose by 3.2%, the smallest…
By Tom Burnett CFA On November 3, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its employment report for October. Total nonfarm payrolls increased by 150,000 to a record level of 156.9 million. The average monthly gain over the prior 12 months was 258,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.9% and…
By Tom Burnett CFA On November 1, 2023, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) voted unanimously to leave the Fed Funds range at 5.25%-50% for the second meeting in a row. In its announcement, the FOMC repeated that the Fed is “strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2% objective…
By Tom Burnett CFA On October 10, 2023, the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) lowered its 2024 global growth forecast from 3.0% to 2.9%, leaving its projection for 2023 growth at 3.0%. Growth in 2022 was 3.5%. World Consumer Prices are now forecast to rise by 6.9% this year and 5.8% in 2024. In…