Evening Briefing Americas

Positive Jobs Data Met by Record Consumer Fear

Get caught up.
Confidence continues to languish as Americans’ anxiety about the overall cost of living is compounded by sharply higher prices at the gas pump.Photographer: Ben Hasty/Reading Eagle/Getty Images via MediaNews Group RM

New data from the federal government Friday indicated US employers had added more jobs than expected for a second month in a row, despite ongoing threats from inflation and the collateral damage of the Iran war.

With unemployment holding at 4.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the figures offer Federal Reserve policymakers space to keep interest rates unchanged for the foreseeable future. Last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the job market has shown “more signs of stability.”