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Unemployment rates fall for U.S. teens and older workers

Two USA central bank policymakers on Friday hailed surprisingly strong monthly jobs figures, which have cemented the view that the Federal Reserve is likely to raise rates in December.

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The Labor Department reported the economy added 271,000 jobs in October. The economy typically needs only about 100,000 jobs a month to keep the unemployment rate from rising.

Among Latino males over 20 years old, the employment rate is 5.1 percent, significantly lower than the Latina rate of 6.4 percent.

Average hourly earnings climbed 2.5 percent in the 12 months through October, the most since July 2009. JPMorgan Chase rose $2.02, or 3 percent, to $68.46, Bank of America rose 64 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $17.95 and Morgan Stanley rose $1.53, or 4.5 percent, to $35.41.

Business, health care, retail, food and drink, and the construction industries all saw job gains. On this, Evans cautioned he still wants to see greater wage gains and said rates should rise slowly in order not to stifle an economy still struggling with low inflation.

The USA central bank took a calculated gamble last week when it specifically referenced its December policy meeting as a date of a possible liftoff and it had the desired effect: investors quickly rolled back bets that rates would stay near zero until next year.

“If the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) were meeting today they would be tightening”, said Jim O’Sullivan, economist at High Frequency Economics, referring to the Fed’s rate-setting committee.

Retailers added almost 44,000 jobs in October, the most since last November, a sign that they are preparing for strong sales over the winter holidays.

These numbers are considerably lower than was normal in past decades because the USA population is becoming increasingly elderly, and the baby boom generation is now retiring in droves, slowing growth in the workforce.

Similarly, a Labor Department measure of underemployment, sometimes called the “real” unemployment rate, fell to 9.8 percent in October. Futures are now implying a 72% chance of a Fed rate hike next month, up from 58% before the jobs report Friday morning.

Analysts had been predicting a much weaker employment advance last month, only slighter better than the 145,000-a-month average for August and September. This job growth was sufficient to push the unemployment rate down slightly to 5.0 percent. Friday, Japan’s Nikkei climbed 149.19 points, or 0.78 percent, to 19,266, its third consecutive daily gain on a weakening yen that helps the country’s exports.

The labor market as a whole, however, is still the healthiest it’s been in years.

“At this point, I see the United States economy as performing well”, she said, but added that no changes were set in stone.

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Silver for December delivery fell 29.2 cents, or 1.95 percent, to close at 14.691 dollars per ounce. “We are expecting that to happen”, Bullard told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said this week that a move next month is a “live possibility” if economic data hold up.

Payroll surge: Employers added 270000 jobs in October