U.S. Employment Rose by 150,000 Jobs in October

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…

By Tom Burnett CFA On October 6, 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Employment Report for September. Total employment rose by 336,000 jobs to a new total of 157.1 million. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%. The number of unemployed workers was also unchanged at 6.4 million. In…

By Tom Burnett CFA On September 20, 2023, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) announced that it will leave current Fed Funds rates at the range of 5.25%-50%. The announcement was accompanied by a set of quarterly projections which suggest that further rate hikes will be necessary to…