The labor market continues slowly tightening
Continuing our ongoing coverage of the labor market, the October Employment Situation release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to show apparent tightening of the labor market. Both the headline U-3 unemployment and the U-6 “underemployment” rate dropped for the second month in a row, by 0.1% and 0.4% respectively.
January | September | October | 9-Month Change | |
U-3 Unemployment Rate | 4.8% | 4.2% | 4.1% | -0.7% |
U-6 Unemployment Rate | 9.4% | 8.3% | 7.9% | -1.5% |
Civilian Noninstitutional Population* | 254,082 | 255,562 | 255,776 | +1,694 |
Civilian Labor Force | 159,716 | 161,146 | 160,381 | +665 |
Employed | 152,081 | 154,345 | 153,861 | +1,780 |
Unemployed | 7,635 | 7,132 | 6,520 | -1,115 |
Employment-Population Ratio | 59.9% | 60.4% | 60.2% | +0.3% |
Part-time for Economic Reasons | 5,840 | 5,122 | 4,753 | -1,087 |
Marginally Attached to Workforce | 1,752 | 1,569 | 1,535 | -217 |
| 532 | 421 | 524 | -8 |
* All numbers are in thousands, and are seasonally-adjusted |
While there were a few noticeable dips and spikes, they’re mostly consistent with the variation we’ve been seeing all year, with the labor market continuing to get tighter with no noticeable effects on wages or inflation. This can mainly be attributed to 10 months of the Trump administration having yielded no significant changes to economic policy, which means there’s been nothing to disrupt the long-run trend of the economy towards expansion over the last several years. With Congress now debating tax policy, and other major legislation scheduled for the hectic pre-holiday session, that may change soon, particularly if the debates devolve into a government shutdown.
David is one of the earliest writers for Torchlight, and also pinch hits on website support and editing/posting. He holds a PhD in Economics, which with $5 would get him a latte; sadly, he doesn’t even like coffee. He can be reached at dspitzley@torchlightmedia.net.
