Jobs

Economy

The job market slowed last month, but it's still too hot to ease inflation fears

12:00pm March 10, 2023

by Scott Horsley

U.S. employers added 311,000 jobs in February, only a modest slowdown from the previous month, indicating the labor market remains hot. The unemployment rate rose to 3.6% from 3.4% in January.

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Are we in a recession right now? Economists are divided.

Economy

Is the economy headed for recession or a soft landing?

7:01am February 17, 2023

by Stacey Vanek Smith

Are we in a recession? It seems like a straightforward question, but the data tells conflicting stories.

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A 'help wanted' sign is displayed in a window of a store in Manhattan, New York City, on Dec. 2, 2022. U.S. employers added an unexpectedly strong 517,000 jobs in January, showcasing the labor market is red-hot. The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in more than half a century.

U.S. employers added 517,000 jobs last month. It's a surprisingly strong number

10:27am February 03, 2023

by Scott Horsley

U.S. employers added 517,000 jobs in January, as the unemployment rate fell to 3.4% . The job market remains tight, despite signs of a slowing economy.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during the opening bell in New York City on Jan. 18, 2023. Survey after survey shows economists and CEOs expect a recession, but there's no certainty of what an economic contraction would look like – or if the U.S. economy will suffer one at all.

Economy

A recession might be coming. Here's what it could look like

5:01am January 24, 2023

From a mild recession to a so-called hard landing, we sift through the wild array of recession predictions.

A "Now Hiring" sign is displayed on a storefront in the Adams Morgan heighborhood in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 07, 2022 .

Economy

The U.S. job market is still healthy, but it's slowing down as recession fears mount

9:42am January 06, 2023

by Scott Horsley

U.S. employers added 223,000 jobs in December, as the unemployment rate dipped to 3.5%. Despite some high-profile layoff announcements, the overall job market remains tight.

A builder sands the body of a guitar at the Fender factory, in Corona, California, on October 6, 2022. Industries sensitive to rising interest rates have been slowing hiring.

The U.S. gained 263,000 jobs last month. It's good news for workers, but not the Fed

4:38pm December 02, 2022

by Scott Horsley

Hiring slowed slightly in November amid rising interest rates. But the U.S. job market remains unusually tight. Employers added 263,000 jobs in November while unemployment held steady at 3.7%.

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Workers attach siding to a house at a new home construction site in Trappe, Maryland, on October 28, 2022. Rising interest rates could mean slowing job growth in construction and manufacturing.

Economy

U.S. hiring cooled slightly in October. That could help to ease inflation

9:59am November 04, 2022

by Scott Horsley

Hiring slowed modestly in October, as employers added 261,000 jobs. That might take some of the upward pressure off inflation.

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Drew Greenblatt runs Marlin Steel Wire Products in Baltimore. Ten months ago, he bought a second plant in Indiana that supplies the auto industry, among other customers.

U.S. factories emerge as a strong point in a weakening economy

5:00am October 20, 2022

by Scott Horsley

Factories have added 467,000 jobs in the last 12 months, as production jumped to its highest level since 2008. But manufacturing remains a much smaller slice of the U.S. economy than it used to be.

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Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference.

Economy

When your seatmate on the plane talks about the Fed, you know things aren't right

9:22am October 09, 2022

by Stacey Vanek Smith

The woman next to me, who described herself as knowing "zero" about the economy, asked whether I thought the Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates. I felt an acute sense of dread.

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A man walks past a "Now Hiring" sign in New York City on July 8, 2022. Signs that job growth cooled in September could help with uncomfortably high inflation.

Stocks sink despite Friday's report that hiring cooled in September

4:02pm October 07, 2022

by Scott Horsley

A new jobs report showed a modest slowdown in hiring last month that was not enough to soothe Wall Street's worries about inflation and the Fed. The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5%

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