Breitbart Business Digest: Did ‘Back to Office’ Backfire? – By John Carney (Breitbart) / July 8, 2022
Jerome Powell got the all-clear signal for a 75-basis point interest rate raise on Friday when the Department of Labor reported the jobs numbers for June.
The U.S. economy swept another 372,000 Americans onto employer payrolls. Hiring was even stronger than that in the private sector, which took in an additional 381,000 workers. That’s enough to push private sector payrolls up 140,000 higher than February 2020, the last month before the pandemic hit the economic data.
Economists had expected far fewer jobs. The myriad signs that the economy was slowing down and that inflation was weighing on real growth in goods and services seemed to imply a bigger slowdown in hiring. The consensus forecast was for around 250,000 jobs added, with the top of the range of estimates at 350,000. So the June numbers topped even the most optimistic views.
At least for now, these figures will allay any fears Fed officials might have that they had gone from behind the curve to ahead of it, meaning that they were hiking into a recession. The labor market is still incredibly strong even if consumer spending and sentiment is weak. This gives the Fed space for a big hike at the end of the month by clearing away fears that higher rates will exact a big toll in terms of jobs. If employers are still hiring at this pace, it’s unlikely that they foresee a severe downturn ahead.
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