Applications for unemployment benefits have risen slightly, still remaining around pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, initial jobless claims rose slightly to 219,000 in the week ending on February 15.
ADP chief economist Nela Richardson joins Market Domination hosts Julie Hyman and Alexandra Canal to highlight the complexities beneath the surface of the labor market as pay growth fails to keep up with inflation
"Even though initial jobless claims can move quickly back and forth from week to week, they're still at two year lows," Richardson explains. She also discusses the importance of tracking jobless claims in relation to federal employment and its broader impact on the labor market.
"Ideally the first place to look would be those initial jobless claims that won't get all the difference in workers who are applying to claims, which is a proxy for layoffs that many economists use in the area," she says, closely watching how private sector workers respond to changes and layoffs in federal employment.
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This post was written by Josh Lynch