NewsSharp decline in US full-time jobs: A closer look at recent labor trends

Sharp decline in US full-time jobs: A closer look at recent labor trends

President of the USA Joe Biden
President of the USA Joe Biden
Images source: © PAP | SHAWN THEW / POOL

12:03 PM EST, March 9, 2024

Stephanie Pomboy, the founder of the macroeconomic trends-focused firm MacroMavens, pointed out the troubling economic indicators affecting the United States.

According to a report by "The Wall Street Journal," the unemployment rate in the USA climbed to 3.9 percent last month, though it was anticipated to stabilize at around 3.7 percent, similar to the figure from January.

Exploring the Dynamics of Employment in the USA

Bloomberg has noted that the current unemployment rate in the United States is at its highest in two years. Nonetheless, the outlet also highlights that employment levels are still considered strong.

What underlies this optimistic outlook? It is primarily due to the fact that American companies generated approximately 302,000 jobs in February, surpassing economist predictions by 82,000. However, it's important to mention, as Reuters does, that data revisions for December and January revealed those months did not perform as initially expected.

While wage growth in the USA continues to rise, there has been a noticeable deceleration. Wages saw a modest increase of 0.1 percent compared to January, but experienced a more significant growth of 4.3 percent when compared to February of the previous year.