The cracks in America’s ultra-strong labour market
With a big discrepancy in jobs data, the economy may be weaker than it seems
It is the million-person mystery, and its solution will help determine just how strong American growth truly is. According to an official survey of employers, America’s economy has added 1.2m jobs in net terms since the start of the year. But a separate survey of households paints a completely different picture: that the country has in fact shed about 100,000 jobs over the same time period.
Slight discrepancies between the two closely watched surveys are normal, but rarely has the gap been so wide. One suggests a robust economy that is coping just fine with high interest rates; the other, that growth is rapidly decelerating.
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Finance & economics June 15th 2024
- Donald Trump’s trade hawk is plotting behind bars
- Rumours of the trade deal’s death are greatly exaggerated
- China is distorting its stockmarket by trying to prop it up
- The cracks in America’s ultra-strong labour market
- China’s currency is not as influential as once imagined
- Has private credit’s golden age already ended?
- Does motherhood hurt women’s pay?
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