The unemployment rate among Hispanics grew from 4.4% in December to 4.9% in January, a month in which 304,000 new jobs were created throughout the country.
The rise in the unemployment rate among Hispanics was somewhat higher than the national rate, which went from 3.9% to 4%, which, despite the increase in the figure, represented as a whole a new sample of the strength of the national economy .
The job creation data released today by the Government practically doubled the expectations of analysts who had predicted the creation of 172,000 new jobs.
The average salary, in turn, rose in January by 0.03 dollars per hour, to 27.56 dollars, in the framework of the sustained trend.
In the last 12 months, salaries have increased by 3.2%, slightly below the accumulated last month, which registered a rise of 3.3%.
On the other hand, the labor force participation rate, that is, the proportion of citizens who are employed or looking for a job, went up from 63.1% in December to the current 63.2%.
This has been the 100th month in which employment grows consecutively, the longest bonanza in the labor market that has been recorded.
The data has an even more positive reading given that it occurred after the partial administrative closure of the federal government that took place between December and January, and that lasted more than a month, at a time when signs of slowdown are beginning to be perceived. other indicators.
“Of course, the economy has slowed, and that will undoubtedly appear in other data that will come soon, but the next job market being a bright area,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, in a note to customers.
Baird stressed that “entrepreneurs continue to hire at a strong pace” and “that’s good news for the consumer sector, and ultimately for the economy as well.”
The unemployment report ends an economic week in which the Federal Reserve (Fed) held its first monetary policy meeting of the year, in which it indicated that it had touched the pause button in the gradual rise in interest rates, which are maintained between 2.25% and 2.50%.
“In the light of global economic and financial events and contained inflationary pressures, the committee will be patient as it determines future adjustments in the range of interest rates that may be appropriate,” the Fed statement said at the end of the week. of your two-day meeting.
Next, the president of the central bank, Jerome Powell, remarked that “the argument to continue with the monetary adjustment has been weakened”.
“Common sense recommends patience,” he told a news conference after the meeting.
Powell rejected that there are signs of recession on the horizon and reiterated that the country is in “good economic shape.”
The president of the Fed did recognize, however, that there are “countercurrents”, as a result of the global weakness and political uncertainty in the country, which will have “to live for a while.”
After knowing the unemployment report, Wall Street opened this Friday in mixed terrain and the Industrial Dow Jones, its main indicator, rose mid-morning 0.47%.
In mid-February, we will know the first estimate of the evolution of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the last quarter of last year and the accumulated of 2018.
The latest projections from the Fed place the growth rate for 2018 at 3%, and a subsequent slowdown in 2019 at 2.3%. (EFEUSA) .-
