Jobs report: Hiring expected to slow in April as rate hikes weigh on growth

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Yahoo! Finance

Jobs report: Hiring expected to slow in April as rate hikes weigh on growth

Myles Udland · Head of News
Thu, May 4, 2023 at 5:59 PM EDT

The April jobs report is set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday and is expected to show a continued slowdown in the labor market. ... Nonfarm payrolls for April are set to rise by 180,000 while the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 3.6%. In March, the US economy added 236,000 jobs while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%.

Here are the key numbers Wall Street will be looking for, according to data from Bloomberg:

• Nonfarm payrolls: +180,000

• Unemployment rate: 3.6%

• Average hourly earnings, month-on-month: +0.3%

• Average hourly earnings, year-on-year: +4.2%

• Average weekly hours worked: 34.4


Friday's jobs report comes after the Federal Reserve voted this week to raise its benchmark interest rate by another 0.25%, bringing the fed funds rate above 5% for the first time since September 2007.

In raising rates on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jay Powell said the labor market remains "very tight," but noted "there are some signs that supply and demand in the labor market are coming back into better balance," pointing to an uptick in participation among prime age workers (or those 25-54), as well as moderating wage gains and a drop in job openings. ... "But overall," Powell added, "labor demand still substantially exceeds the supply of available workers."

{snip}

[Docjohnson]

1. Everything is better

Than under Trump and that is an undeniable fact. All the hand wringing is just the republican media fear mongering.