White House excited about October employment report
The October Employment Report is out. The White House’s reaction while low key is positive on some tidbits in the report that points to a fairly strong economy.
Jason Furman, Chair of the White House Council of Economic advisers said that the report had some important positive information. He said that wages growth is much better than previous. He said jobs are being added at the fastest pace since 2000.
Furman said workers are finally starting to see the gains of the economy. Concerns remain for the unemployment of African Americans and Latinos. They are at 9.2% and 6.3% respectively.
The New York time reported the following.
The American economy added 271,000 jobs in October, the government reported Friday, a very strong showing that makes an interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve much more likely when policy makers meet next month.
The unemployment rate dipped to 5 percent, from 5.1 percent in September. Average hourly earnings also bounced back, rising 0.4 percent in October after showing no increase in September; that lifted the gain to 2.5 percent over the last 12 months, the healthiest since 2009.
The combination of the surge in job creation, rising wages and the falling unemployment rate all increase the pressure on the Fed to finally move on rates after months of debate and uncertainty amid economic turmoil overseas. It also largely puts to rest any lingering fears of a new recession and suggests that the economy is likely to continue to improve as the nation heads into an election year.