Federal Reserve meeting minutes: Some data do not indicate a sharp deterioration in the labor market

Jinse Finance reported that the Federal Reserve meeting minutes mentioned that, in discussing the labor market, participants noted that employment growth had slowed and the unemployment rate had risen slightly. Participants believed that the low levels of estimated employment growth in recent months may reflect declines in both labor supply and demand growth. Participants pointed out that factors such as reduced net immigration or changes in labor force participation rate are weakening labor supply; while moderate economic growth or high uncertainty affecting corporate hiring decisions may be reasons for suppressing labor demand. In this context, participants mentioned a range of other indicators that help assess labor market conditions, including: the unemployment rate, the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons, wage growth, the proportion of unemployed people finding jobs, the voluntary quit rate among employed persons, and the layoff rate. Most participants believed that the latest readings of these indicators did not show a sharp deterioration in labor market conditions. However, a few participants believed that recently released labor market data (including revisions to previous data and preliminary estimates of nonfarm payroll benchmark revisions) suggest that labor market weakness may have lasted longer than previously reported.