Cooling US Job Market Gives Fed Room to Pause Rate Hikes for Now
- Slowdown in wage growth will be welcomed by central bankers
- Fed to keep threat of another hike, Deutsche Bank’s Ryan says
Commuters wait to board a ferry in San Francisco, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A cooling US job market gives the Federal Reserve room to pause interest-rate increases this month while keeping options open for another rate hike later in the year.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 187,000 after the prior two months were revised significantly lower, a Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed Friday. The unemployment rate rose to 3.8%, partly reflecting a pickup in labor-force participation, and average hourly earnings rose just 0.2%, marking the most tepid increase since February 2022.