ALBAWABA – The United States (US) jobs report for May came out Friday, indicating a 339,000 increase in the US jobs, and reportedly masking signs of a weakening economy.
Despite the high-interest rates, the report shows the US labor market is growing, which Reuters noted may be a temporary reprieve and a result of high inflation.
High inflation normally comes with higher wages and employment rates.
However, wage changes remained moderate, as per the report.
In just a little over a year, the Fed raised the US interest rate by nearly 5 percent, and may be forced to raise it further in the months to come.
Opposite to the rise in US payroll jobs, Reuters reported a 0.3 percent increase in unemployment, from 3.4 to 3.7 percent, which is the highest rate of change since the 2007-2009 recession.
US Federal Reserve Board (Fed) officials previously warned that the economic situation will get worse before it gets better, especially in regards to the labour market.
According to the report, unemployment rose by 440 thousand, the highest since November 2010.
The social segment most affected by the rise in unemployment is the African American community, accounting for nearly half of the increase in the number of unemployed workers.
In fact, their unemployment rate climbed 0.9 percent, from 4.7 percent to 5.6 percent, according to Reuters, the highest as well in 11 years.
Despite the positive growth in jobs, Reuters analysts claim the disproportionate rise in unemployment among black workers in the US is a trademark feature of US economic downturns and recessions.
"It is only one month of data, and it can be easy to overreact, but certain red flags cannot be ignored," said Nick Bunker, head of economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab.
In addition, the average number of weekly hours worked fell again to 34.3, "and are now below their average level from 2017 to 2019 - a traditional recession indicator and a potential signal that employers are now able to hire workers more readily," he said.
