U.S. Job, Earnings Growth Stayed Strong in July, Cementing Rate Hike Outlook
2022.07.08 15:50
By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com — The U.S. economy continued to create jobs at an impressive clip in June, making it easier for the Federal Reserve to carry on with a series of aggressive raises in interest rates.
Nonfarm employment rose by 372,000 through the middle of last month, only a marginal slowdown from a revised 384,000 in May and well above analysts’ forecasts for a gain of 268,000.
Average hourly earnings also stayed strong, growing 0.3% on the month and 5.1% on the year, a little ahead of expectations.
The numbers come less than a day after two senior Federal Reserve officials – governor Chris Waller and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, both expressed a preference for raising the target range for fed funds by another 75 basis points this month.
The news pushed U.S. stock futures slightly lower, with fear of higher interest rates being offset slightly by fresh signs that the economy still has plenty of momentum. By 8:38 AM ET (1238 GMT), Dow Jones futures were down 46 points, or 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures were down 0..5% and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.9%.
