Raleigh. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that the United States continues to have a “healthy labor market,” even though the pace of job creation has slowed in recent months.
Yellen told reporters in North Carolina that July’s unemployment rate of 4.3 percent, a three-year high, remains very low by historical standards. Labor Department jobs data for August are due out Friday, and the unemployment rate is expected to edge lower to 4.2 percent.
But private payrolls data released Thursday showed employers hired the fewest workers in 3-1/2 years in August, with hiring in the previous month revised downward, pointing to a possible sharp slowdown in hiring.
Private payrolls increased by 99,000 jobs last month, the smallest gain since January 2021, after rising by a revised 111,000 in July, according to ADP’s National Employment Report.
“While the pace of job creation has slowed, it is normal and adequate to absorb new entrants into the labor market,” Yellen said, adding that growth remains at a rapid pace – 3 percent in the second quarter – with solid data on consumer spending and investment spending.
“I think we have a healthy economy and a healthy labor market,” Yellen said.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to a two-month low last week, a sign that layoffs remain relatively low.
Weekly claims fell 5,000 to 227,000 for the week ended Aug. 31, the Labor Department reported.
That’s the lowest number since the week of July 6, when 223,000 Americans applied for the aid. It’s also fewer than the 230,000 new applications that analysts had expected.
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– 2024-09-16 07:27:08
