KPI — November 2021: State of the Economy

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased sharply in October. The index now stands at 112.23, up from 109.68 in September.

“The increase in the Employment Trends Index suggests strong employment growth is in store over the next several months,” said Gad Levanon, head of The Conference Board Labor Markets Institute. “As the negative economic impact of the Delta variant subsides, spending on – and employment in – in-person services should continue to recover toward pre-pandemic levels. We project the unemployment rate is likely to dip below four percent within the next six months and may reach the pre-pandemic low of 3.5% by the end of 2022. In other words, labor shortages may not go away. In such an environment, significant upward pressure on wages may become the new normal.”

According to The Conference Board, the rapid wage inflation in October suggests that the US labor market is still experiencing severe labor shortages, despite the expiration of the enhanced unemployment benefits and the reopening of schools.

Last month’s record-high job leaver statistics combined with burdensome mandates and the highest inflation in nearly 13 years has some politicians blaming failed economic policy.

Employment

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 531,000 in October, compared to a forecast of 450,000. It is the biggest jump in a single month since July. As such, the national unemployment rate was trimmed to 4.6%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

The PCE price index for September increased 4.4% from one year ago, reflecting increases in both goods and services. Energy prices increased 24.9%, while food prices increased 4.1%. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index for September increased 3.6% from one year ago. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the $93.4 billion increase in current dollar PCE in September reflected an increase of $63.6 billion in spending for services and a $29.9 billion increase in spending for goods. Personal outlays increased $92.1 billion, while personal saving was $1.34 trillion and the personal saving rate – personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income –was 7.5%.

Important Takeaways, Courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, real average hourly earnings decreased 1.2%, seasonally adjusted, from October 2020 to October 2021. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of .3% in the average workweek resulted in a 1.6% decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period. Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees decreased .7% from September to October, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from a .4% increase in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 1.1% in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Real average weekly earnings decreased 1% over the month due to the change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of .3% in average weekly hours.

From October 2020 to October 2021, real average hourly earnings decreased 1.1%, seasonally adjusted. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a .3% decrease in the average workweek resulted in a 1.4% decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.

By Demographic

Unemployment rates among the major worker groups: adult men – 4.3%; adult women – 4.4%; teenagers – 11.9%; Whites – 4%; Asians – 4.2%; Hispanics – 5.9%; and Blacks – 7.9%.

By Industry

Nonfarm employment increased by 18.2 million since April 2020 but remains down 4.2 million, or 2.8%, compared to pre-pandemic levels in February 2020.

This month, notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, manufacturing, as well as transportation and warehousing.

Important Takeaways, Courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Review all employment statistics here.

KPI — November 2021: Consumer Trends

Key Performance Indicators Report — November 2021

Exit mobile version