cover of episode Is 4.1% Unemployment a Recession Warning?

Is 4.1% Unemployment a Recession Warning?

2024/7/8
logo of podcast Notes on the Week Ahead

Notes on the Week Ahead

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Despite a slightly higher-than-expected payroll job gain, the June employment report was on the soft side, with downward revisions to payroll gains from prior months, a drop in temporary employment and only modest gains in wages.  However, the weakest aspect of the report was the unemployment rate, which edged up from 4.0% to 4.1%.  This, in itself, wouldn’t be particularly notable were it not for the fact that the unemployment rate has now risen steadily over the past 14 months from a 54-year low of 3.4% set in April of last year.