September 5, 2022
The economy continued to add jobs in August at a healthy rate and drew even more individuals back into the labor force. It was a microcosm of the hoped-for soft landing. If the individuals who left the labor force during the pandemic return, balance could be restored to the labor market and one of the big inflationary pressures on the economy reduced without the need for a decline in overall employment. The seemingly good news did little to cheer the stock market – a sign of the changing market psychology and the new consensus that the Fed is unlikely to be swayed from raising rates by a month or two of good data.
Sources: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/, BLS