Economics
U.S. Payrolls and Wages Cool While Jobless Rate Hits 48-Year Low
- U.S. nonfarm payrolls below forecast in storm-affected month
- Average hourly earnings increased 2.8% from September 2017
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Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the link between unemployment and inflation may be resting rather than poised for a revival. The jobless rate’s decline to a 48-year low will put that view to the test.
While unemployment fell more than forecast in September to 3.7 percent, the lowest since December 1969, average hourly earnings climbed 2.8 percent from a year earlier, slowing as projected from a 2.9 percent advance the prior month, a Labor Department report showed Friday. Hiring eased to 134,000, reflecting the fallout from Hurricane Florence, with 299,000 people being away from work due to bad weather.