Latest Jobs Report Shames the Inflation Hawks
Today on TAP: Wage growth continues to decelerate. Contrary to Larry Summers et al., wages are not driving price increases.
BY ROBERT KUTTNER JUNE 3, 2022
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The Labor Department reported today that job creation increased by 390,000 in May, down slightly from 406,000 in April and dramatically below the blistering monthly average of 561,000 for the previous year. Total jobs in the economy are still half a percentage point below their pre-pandemic level.
Wage growth also continued to slow down, as labor markets are not tight enough to command higher real wages. In May, wages grew at an annualized rate of only 3.8 percent, or less than half the rate of inflation. That’s down from 4.3 percent in the previous quarter.
Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.3 percent, and the ratio of employment to population, at 60.1 percent, remained 1.1 percentage points below their pre-pandemic February 2020 levels.
https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/latest-jobs-report-shames-the-inflation-hawks/