Read the highlights of this week’s commentary from Helios:
December added 223K jobs to the economy, ahead of the expected 203K, though a bit slower than the 256K in November. The household survey showed overall employment rising 717K, which pushed the unemployment rate down to 3.5%, even despite an increase in the size of the labor force.
Job openings remain robust at over 10M. While they have slowly come down from their recent peak of 11.9M, openings are well above the mid-6M to mid-7M job openings during 2018 and 2019.
The ISM Services Index fell into contraction territory, falling to 49.6, from 56.5 in November. Fed hikes may be having their impact on cooling demand as prices slowed, which may point to some helpful signs on overall inflation.
Want to learn more about Helios Quantitative Research? Click Here to schedule a meeting with one of our representatives!