Here are comments on the August jobs report, which showed 201,000 positions being created during the month and the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.9%. Economists saw the best news in wages, as the yearly rate of pay increases climbed to 2.9% from 2.7%.
Read more from MarketWatch about the report.
• “Job creation solid and a nice pop on wages,” said Jared Bernstein, Vice President Joe Biden’s former chief economist.
1/2 Another strong jobs report! Job creation solid and a nice pop on wages--up 2.9%, probably ahead of Aug inflation. Don't love the decline in LFPR and EPOP but they're noisy.
— Jared Bernstein (@econjared) September 7, 2018
• Jason Furman, who ran the Obama-era Council of Economic Advisers, said wage growth was the job’s report’s best news and called the 201,000 figure “normal.”
Best news in jobs report: Wages up 2.9% in last year
Most normal news in jobs report: 201K jobs in past month, almost exactly the same as the 196K average for the last 12 months
Most disappointing news in the jobs report: labor force participation down 0.2pp.
— Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) September 7, 2018
A stand-out from today’s employment report was the constructive pop in earnings – up 0.4% m/m taking the y/y up to 2.9% for a cycle high. The struggle: the erosion from inflation which has more than offset this improvement. pic.twitter.com/ExlfOpSP9M
— Steven Rattner (@SteveRattner) September 7, 2018
• Here’s Andrew Hunter of Capital Economics on the Fed outlook after the report: “With activity booming and core PCE inflation having risen to the 2% target, the continued strength of the labor market keeps the Fed firmly on track to raise interest rates twice more this year, starting with a 25bp hike at the FOMC meeting in two weeks’ time.”
• Manufacturing jobs took a hit in the month, as noted by Patrick Chovanec of Silvercrest Asset Management.
Manufacturing jobs actually fell by -3,000 in August, well underperforming the +21,000 gain expected. This is the first monthly job loss in manufacturing since July 2017. Over the past year, factory jobs are up by +254,000, with over 3/4 of the gain in the durable goods sector.
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) September 7, 2018
• “The standout figure was the 0.4% advance in average hourly earnings which takes the annual rate up to 2.9%, with both readings exceeding expectations by two ticks. That justifies another rate hike this month and suggests that underlying inflation may be picking up slightly.” — Katherine Judge of CIBC Economics.
• “This is a strong report, both in terms of job creation and growth in average hourly earnings, and it’s only likely to confirm the Fed’s intention to raise rates at the next meeting.” — Charles Seville, head of North America sovereigns at Fitch.
• Martha Gimbel, research director of Indeed.com, called a drop in the percentage of people working part time for economic reasons “very exciting.”
Very exciting drop in the percentage of people working PTER down to 2.7% (still above its pre-recession low of 2.6% - but we're finally getting there!) That number has come down almost 0.4 p.p. this year. pic.twitter.com/FiY0yvifsL
— Martha Gimbel (@marthagimbel) September 7, 2018
