Saturday, 2 September 2023

US unemployment rate rises to 3.8pc

Unemployment up

The US economy added a steadier +187,000 to payrolls in August,

There were also further downward revisions to earlier months totaling -110,000, suggesting that interest rate hikes have begun to slow the economy. 

Revisions have consistently been pulling down these figures for the whole of 2023 to date. 


The unemployment rate jumped from 3.5 per cent to 3.8 per cent, in part because more people are coming back into the US labor force. 

Notably the underemployment rate also rose from 6.7 per cent to 7.1 per cent.

The annual growth in annual hourly earnings slowed to +4.3 per cent. 

The relatively soft result cements a pause in interest rates from the Federal Reserve this month. 

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Australia's major banks increasinngly see the momentum in the housing market as locked in.