There was a kind of consensus among analysts that hiring in May would slow down in the United States and this was interpreted as good news to reduce the cost of putting food on the table or filling the gas tank.
The prediction is that 328,000 new jobs would be registered, but the reality exceeded expectations. The US continues on an impressive path by creating 390,000 jobs, much better than expected, showing that companies continue to expand staff and increase salaries as a hook. They were up ten cents an hour, or 0.3% on a monthly basis, which is 5.2% higher than a year ago.
There are already 17 consecutive months of increases in employee hiring. According to the Labor Statistics Office, the unemployment rate remains at 3.6% for the third record in a row, almost the lowest level in half a century.
These data confirm the strength of the US labor market, of an exceptional power as President Joe Biden underlines in the face of the uncertainty posed by inflation and the hint of a possible recession, or "a hurricane" as Jamie Dimon, executive director of Chase.
The demand for workers is far outstripping the supply of workers willing to get down to business. Companies have incorporated an average of more than 400,000 employees for twelve consecutive months, the longest period of growth since this information was collected, which began in 1939.
Amid this shortage, the struggle to acquire staff has led to wages growing by more than 5% each month in 2022 compared to the previous year. In contrast, the increases had an average of 3.2% in the twelve months prior to February 2020, a moment of rupture due to the exceptional confinement measures that were adopted due to the pandemic.
The small drop in hiring from the median of 400,000 is interpreted as a sign that the labor market is moving towards a new equilibrium. As reported on Wednesday by the Department of Labor, in April 11.4 million vacant positions were recorded, a number still for the annals, although it represents a setback compared to the 11.9 million in March. The number of available jobs fell from two workers per position to 1.9.
Record numbers in consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the US economy, have fueled business expansion and job creation as companies try to make their demand more attractive with a variety of incentives and incentives. services.
Despite these solid numbers from last month, a report from the Federal Reserve (Fed or US central bank) considered that the strength tends to weaken, which will lead to wage leveling and, supposedly, to less inflationary pressure . The Fed does not hide, however, the concern that this increase in labor costs is passed on to consumers and is an obstacle to lowering the price of products, also affected by problems in the supply chain and the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine.
Some economists point out that the outlook for job seekers remains strong not seen since the 1960s. The 'Business Insider' wrote a headline in this guise this Friday, and it is more than eloquent: "Stocks are plummeting, technology companies are imploding, trade giants are suffering, and the US economy has never been stronger." The great renunciation and the great contradiction.
