There’s good news and bad news these days when it comes to the American labor market.
On the plus side, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said in a report Saturday (Aug. 23), unemployment is still low, with companies showing little interest in carrying out layoffs. On the other hand, employers also seem uninterested in hiring.
That means that even a relatively minor uptick in job cuts could mean greater losses, the report added, and that process can be tough to halt once it gets going.
It’s because of this fear, WSJ added, that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has signaled a possible interest rate cut even with inflation above the central bank’s 2% target.
In a speech last week, Powell characterized the employment landscape as “curious,” with the reduced supply of workers because of immigration restrictions offsetting the effects of reduced demand, leaving unemployment…
