Economy
Poorer by the hour, richer by the payroll
American employers added 165,000 jobs in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.
Jobs
Special Report
Labor Day: Hiring is strong enough to worry the Fed
The August employment report, landing just before Labor Day, showed an American jobs market in fine health.
Economy
Blowout jobs, tighter Fed
Non-farm payrolls for August came in far above every Wall Street forecast. The report showed an economy in no need of help, and it left little room for anyone still arguing that the Fed should ease.
Economy
The job market's confusing signals
The unemployment rate rose to 4.6 per cent in November, and the jobs report left economists' models in a muddle.
Economy
Flying blind: no jobs report
The first Friday of October came and went without an Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one of the rare gaps of its kind in modern monetary history.
Economy
911,000 jobs that never existed
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its preliminary annual benchmark revision that payrolls in the twelve months to March 2025 had been overstated by 911,000 jobs.
Economy
Just 22,000 jobs
The US economy added just 22,000 non-farm jobs in August, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 per cent.
Special Report
Labor Day: Hiring has stalled
The American labour market reached Labor Day in an uncomfortable state, with hiring largely frozen but few large layoffs.
Explainer
How 258,000 jobs disappeared
Two consecutive monthly revisions removed 258,000 jobs that had already been reported.
Economy
Trump fires the jobs data chief
The commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics was fired on 5 August, breaking a long-standing norm that official economic statistics are kept free of political interference.
Economy
600,000 jobs erased from the record
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has taken nearly 600,000 jobs out of the 2024 payroll count in its annual benchmark revision to non-farm payrolls.
Economy
Great jobs data, bad news for bonds
Non-farm payrolls rose by 256,000 in December, a heavy blow to bond investors betting on quick rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
Economy
Just 12,000 jobs: what storms and strikes hide
Non-farm payrolls rose by just 12,000 in October. A casual reader might have taken that as a sign the economy was falling off a cliff.
Economy
254,000 jobs, despite the hurricanes
Non-farm payrolls rose by 254,000 in September, far above forecasts. Earlier months were revised up by 72,000 and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1 per cent.
Economy
The jobs numbers keep getting revised down
Employers added 142,000 non-farm jobs in August, short of consensus forecasts, and the previous two months were revised down by a further 86,000.
Special Report
Labor Day: Is the job market cracking?
The unemployment rate reached 4.3 per cent in July, nearly a full percentage point above its low for the cycle.
Economy
America had 818,000 fewer jobs than we thought
On 21 August the Bureau of Labor Statistics published preliminary benchmark revisions showing that US non-farm payrolls had been overstated by 818,000 jobs in the twelve months to March 2024.
Economy
The recession alarm goes off
US payrolls grew by just 114,000 in July and the unemployment rate jumped to 4.3 per cent, a nasty surprise for markets.
Economy
Immigration changes the jobs maths
Non-farm payrolls rose by 303,000 in March and unemployment dipped to 3.8 per cent.
Economy
Why job numbers keep getting revised down
February’s payroll report showed a gain of 275,000 jobs, alongside a 167,000 downward revision to the previous two months.
Economy
353,000 jobs and no March cut
Non-farm payrolls rose by 353,000 in January, far above forecasts, and December's figure was revised sharply higher.
Economy
The recession rule that's flashing amber
After the October jobs report the Sahm Rule indicator reached 0.33 percentage points, an amber warning.
Economy
Strong jobs, falling bonds
Non-farm payrolls rose by 336,000 in September, nearly double the consensus forecast.
Economy
Unemployment rose, for a good reason
The unemployment rate rose from 3.5 to 3.8 per cent in August, and the first commentaries warned of a turning cycle.
Special Report
Labor Day: The job market is cooling the right way
For eighteen months economic orthodoxy held that bringing inflation down would require a painful jump in unemployment.
Economy
The jobs report that disagrees with itself, again
Non-farm payrolls rose by 339,000 in May, well above a consensus that had expected a gentle slowdown.
Economy
OPEC just made the Fed's job harder
OPEC+ surprised oil markets on Sunday, 2 April, by announcing a production cut of 1.16 million barrels per day.
Economy
Are bank failures doing the Fed's job for it?
Emergency Fed lending to banks is approaching $300 billion, according to the central bank's H.4.1 release, and that has undone months of quantitative tightening in a matter of days.
Economy
517,000 jobs and the end of the rate-cut dream
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 517,000 net new payroll jobs for January, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4 per cent, its lowest since May 1969.
Economy
Wages are rising — by how much depends on who you ask
Average hourly earnings rose 0.6 per cent in November, a strong monthly gain that sent bond-trading algorithms onto the defensive.
Economy
Two jobs reports, two stories. Which one matters?
Non-farm payrolls rose by a steady 263,000 in September, evidence that American companies are still hiring briskly.
