Hot off the Press: U.S. Jobs Report June 2024
Get ready to crunch some numbers, because the U.S. job market just dropped its latest stats, and they’re causing a stir in the economic playground. Here’s the lowdown on what went down last month:
In June, Uncle Sam pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a whopping 208,000 new jobs added to the mix. Not too shabby, right? But hold your horses, because the unemployment rate decided to play the yo-yo, ticking up to 4.1% from 4% in May. It’s like hitting pause on the dance floor just when the beat was picking up.
Average hourly earnings? They cooled off a bit to 3.9% year-over-year, down from 4.1%, right in line with what the eggheads predicted. On a monthly basis, wages crept up 0.3%, a slight dip from the 0.4% rise last time. Workers are hustling, but at a steady pace.
Meanwhile, the job creators were putting in overtime. The government led the charge, clocking in 70,000 fresh gigs, followed by healthcare, social assistance, and construction sectors all throwing their hats into the employment ring.
But here’s where it gets interesting—full-time gigs took a dip, while part-timers got a promotion with 50,000 new spots. Juggling multiple jobs? The number dipped to 8.34 million, but the long-term unemployed grew by 166,000, now at 1.5 million.
And the plot thickens with a tale of two workforces: jobs for foreign-born workers soared by over 1.1 million in the past year, while native-born folks saw nearly a million fewer opportunities. It’s a labor market tug-of-war.
Over in the stock market, reactions were lukewarm with modest gains across the board. Treasury yields were in the red zone, doing the limbo with the 10-year yield down to 4.31%. The U.S. Dollar Index dipped below 104.90, feeling the heat after the jobs report.
Economic gurus are eyeing the Federal Reserve, predicting potential interest rate cuts as the job market starts showing signs of strain. With inflation in the Fed’s sweet spot, bets are on for a rate cut at their September meeting. Investors are split, betting once or twice on the Fed’s rate-cutting magic by year-end.
So there you have it, folks. The job market’s throwing some curveballs, but with Uncle Sam hiring and the Fed eyeing cuts, it’s a wild ride ahead in the economic rodeo. Stay tuned, stay sharp, and keep hustling in this job jungle!