This, plus earlier evidence this week (in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS data), suggest that the Fed should hold off on any further increase rate.
The jobs report for August 2023, just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, clearly shows a job market that – while remaining fairly strong – is noticeably cooling. This, plus earlier evidence this week (from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS data), suggest that the Fed should hold off on any further increase rate increases for now.
The BLS report for August showed that the unemployment rate has risen from 3.5 to 3.8 percent. This is not necessarily bad news, since much of the increase was driven by rising labor force participation (up .2 percentage points to 62.8 percent) rather than falling employment. Rising labor force activity is clearly positive, as it helps relieve labor shortages that might otherwise create inflationary wage pressure.
