February Jobs Report Shows Steady But Resilient Job Market: Fed Should Not Put Economic Recovery At Risk
Published March 10, 2023 10:02 AM
Below, EPI economists offer their initial findings from this morning’s jobs report, which showed 311,000 jobs were added in February as wage growth continues to slow.
From EPI Senior Economist Eliza Gould (@eliselgould):
Read the full Twitter thread here.
The labor market remains strong in February 2023, with 311,000 jobs added. Prime-age EPOPs are back to pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate rises along with labor force participation.
— Eliza Gould (@eliselgould) March 10, 2023
Gains in leisure and hospitality continue to make up for the lack of leisure and hospitality as millions of jobs have been lost due to the pandemic. Since February 2020, 410,000 jobs have been lost in the leisure and hospitality industry. pic.twitter.com/oRYBzyXpqS
— Eliza Gould (@eliselgould) March 10, 2023
While the private sector experienced a strong recovery due to major political interventions, the public sector, especially state and local government jobs, continues to lag behind. Private sector employment is 2.6% above pre-pandemic levels, while state and local employment is down 2.0%. pic.twitter.com/xrgMQ5ycX5
— Eliza Gould (@eliselgould) March 10, 2023
From EPI President Heidi Schierholtz (@hshierholz):
Read the full Twitter thread here.
Annual monthly wage growth in February was 2.9%, which is very non-inflationary. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: THIS DIMENSION IS THE Fed’S WORK DOING. 1/
This chart shows the year-over-year growth in monthly wages. The slowdown compared to last year is obvious. pic.twitter.com/WjwjUC5TuY
— Heidi Schierholz (@hshierholz) March 10, 2023
If the Fed is determined to restore the 2 percent inflation that (roughly) prevailed before the coronavirus recession, at best we are seeing exactly what we are seeing: nominal wage growth is slowing, but inflation is slowing even faster. 3/
— Heidi Schierholz (@hshierholz) March 10, 2023
However, one worrisome note. While the number of state and local government jobs increased by 39,000 in February, there is still a big gap – they have decreased by 409,000 since February 20, with two-thirds of them, 260,000, in education. 6/
— Heidi Schierholz (@hshierholz) March 10, 2023
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