Hicks: ‘Unambiguously Positive’ Report Could Coax Rate Hike
Ball State University Economist Mike Hicks says the U.S. Department of Labor’s latest jobs report might cause the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by year’s end. It would be the first increase in nearly a decade. He says the November numbers, which show employers added 211,000 jobs, were "across the board the most unambiguously positive on record."
"Job gains occurred in almost every sector, and all secondary measures of labor market distress were down," says Center for Business and Economic Research Director Hicks. "There were fewer workers laboring part-time for economic reasons and small declines in discouraged and long-term unemployed workers. Perhaps most importantly, this was the second month of solid wage gains. As the year comes to an end, there are tantalizing hints that wage growth is taking hold. For the first time in memory, there were no meaningful downsides buried deep in the employment summary."
September and October job rates were also revised by a combined 50,000 in September and October.
He says nearly every sector nationwide showed gains and "there were fewer workers laboring part-time for economic reasons and small declines in discouraged and long-term unemployed workers. Perhaps most importantly, this was the second month of solid wage gains."
Hicks adds there are "tantalizing hints" wage growth is beginning to show. Federal interest rates are currently at record low levels.