The US labor market confirmed this Friday its resistance in the post-pandemic era with the data of 253,000 new jobs created in April, a figure well above the 180,000 estimated by analysts. Unemployment fell from 3.5% the previous month to 3.4%: the lowest rate since 1969.
The news is obviously great. But with a not so positive nuance in the medium term. And it is that wages also increased by 0.5% in April, reaching an annual average of 4.4%. And this, which is just as good to begin with, pushes inflation upwards and not only can delay a cut in interest rates, but it can lead the Federal Reserve to an eleventh hike, according to experts.
It must be remembered that on Wednesday the Fed applied its tenth rate hike in just over a year, to 5.5%, after which its officials opened the door to a pause. An expectation that now cools.
President Joe Biden welcomed the employment numbers. “The jobs created in April add to the 12 million we’ve added since we arrived,” he said in a meeting with members of his cabinet at the White House.
Working-age Americans are participating in the labor force at the highest rate in 15 years.”
“The very good news is that working-age Americans are participating in the workforce at the highest rate in 15 years,” the president added. And he concluded: “Obviously we have more work to do, but we are going in the right direction and we are making real progress.”
