“The January jobs report provides further evidence that the possibility of recession this year is very remote,” said Bernard Baumohl, global chief economist from the Economic Outlook Group in Princeton, NJ “Economic activity is expected to accelerate this year as rising employment, income, home values and confidence drive more spending,” and he was right. “Financial markets are wary,” said Michael Hanson, senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, “but the job market still appears to continue to grow.” New data suggests the economy is holding up despite a slowdown in China, growing risks in emerging markets and stock market turmoil. The slowdown in Chinese production gives the United States the opportunity to compete on products, quality and price. The decrease in the unemployment rate has pushed the Federal Reserve to think about whether it should raise the benchmark interest rate, in other words inflate the cost of living or not, according to the NY Times article, “Slower Growth of the jobs report may give the Fed pause on interest rates” . The economy is improving, but it is not yet at its peak or strong enough to allow for inflation, but if the economy continues to grow over the next year or two, expect that to happen. The decrease in the unemployment rate in most of our countries is due to the retirement of all workers, which helps companies promote workers and have more entry positions for new employees. Increases in wages and hourly rates also help discouraged workers be more attracted to re-entering the workforce
tags