The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report on Friday showed that annual wage gains slowed but remained too high to be consistent with the U.S. central bank’s 2% inflation target. The release capped a week dominated by data, including upward revisions to the weekly state unemployment and continuing claims, that had suggested labor market conditions were easing.
Labor market tightness is drawing more people into the workforce, with 480,000 entrants last month, which could help to further restrain wage growth. The unemployment rate for Blacks dropped to an all-time low of 5.0%.
“Rather than an abrupt and jarring end to the jobs party of the past couple of years, the nation’s job market is instead gradually turning the lights back up and music down in a mostly smooth transition from weekend to weekday that looks, for now, to be largely sustainable and healthy,” said Nick Bunker, head of economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab.
Nonfarm…
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