Unemployment Increases More Than Expected As More People Look For Work

Unemployment The number of new applicants increased even though it was higher in February Jobs According to Data The Bureau of Labor Statistics published Friday.

The total nonfarm employment rose by 311,000, exceeding analysts’ expectations of 225,000 additional positions. The unemployment rate rose slightly from 3.4% to 3.6% in January and February. This was also above analysts’ expectations.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the increase in unemployment was due to the fact that the labor force participation rate, which failed to recover from the lockdown-induced recession in January, increased to 62.4% in February. Data Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. This metric measures the percentage of working-age people who are currently employed or looking for a job.

“Contributing to upward pressure here, there were more people looking for work,” Mark Hamrick, Senior Economic Analyst at Bankrate, stated in comments to The Daily Wire

In an otherwise bleak economic environment marked by persistent supply chain bottlenecks and record inflation, the labor market is widely considered to be a bright spot. Both trends have been exacerbated by low labor force participation in the economy. Businesses are raising wages to fill their payrolls, and attracting or keeping more workers.

The leisure and hospitality industry added 105,000 positions while there are 410,000 fewer positions than the month before lockdown mandates were put in place across the country. Meanwhile, the food service sector gained 70,000 positions. The information sector lost 25,000 jobs, while the transportation and warehouse sector lost 22,000.

The nominal wage rate increased by 4.6% between February 2022 & February 2023. This rate did not surpass inflation levels, but does indicate a decline in households’ purchasing power. Between January 2022, January 2023, real wages fell 1.5%.

“Along with the updates on the jobless rate and the number of jobs added, the wage growth component of the report is also closely watched, especially amid concerns about inflation,” Hamrick also added.

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As officials at the Federal Reserve increase the target federal funds rates to combat inflation, the unemployment data is now available. Policymakers Announcement A 0.25% rate increase was made last month, a decrease from the previous rate increases of 0.75% or 0.5%. Federal Open Market Committee Members stated in a Statement That “ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive,” A feeling confirmed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testified before the lawmakers

“With the February jobs report now out of the way, Federal Reserve officials look next to the upcoming Consumer Price Index due Tuesday as they chart the future course of monetary policy in their battle against inflation,” Hamrick continued. “The forthcoming update on inflation at the retail level will help members of the Federal Open Market Committee decide their next interest rate hike for the March meeting as well as the possible future trajectory for rates.”

After another release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the data were released. Shown The number of open jobs in the United States decreased to 10.8million as of January. The 5.7 million individuals who were unemployed as of January indicated that there were nearly two available positions for each worker.

“From As more people look for work, unemployment rises faster than expected“

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