The July jobs report revealed that employment in the U.S. is back to pre-pandemic levels. The U.S. economy smashed expectations by adding 528,000 jobs in the month of July. Bartie Scott, senior editor of Economy at Insider Barney, joined Cheddar News to discuss. 

Cheddar's News Wrap

U.S. Adds 528,000 Jobs in July Amid Recession Fears

let's switch gears now the july jobs report revealing some surprisingly good news employment in the U. S. Is back to pre pandemic levels. The US economy smashing expectations by adding 528,000 jobs in the month of july the 19th straight month of job market gains. The data shows job opening are far surpassing the number of people looking for work joining me now to discuss Barney Scott, senior editor of Economy at Insider Barney, welcome to the show. Welcome back. I should say. We've been hearing talks about whether or not we're in or heading towards a recession. What does this report suggest about the economy right now? And of course the labor market. So this report adds fuel to the argument that we're not in a recession right now. I heard a Goldman Sachs economists say this earlier this week that while inflation may be people's biggest complaint about the economy right now and it hurts. Um We're in real trouble when people can't get a job and that's just not what we're seeing. Like you said, there's almost two open jobs per person looking for a job in the US and that market is still really strong break down what we need to know from july's report which sector saw the biggest gains here. So um leisure and hospitality and government jobs are still the ones that need to hire the most. Um Leisure and hospitality has also seen the biggest wage increase. You know that um sector is really really desperate to be hiring more people. We saw health care and education go up a lot this month, which was a little bit surprising. Um but and then construction and government are probably the two that you know have the biggest labor shortage at this point, Unemployment is tying a 50 year low right? As a ticked lower to 3.5% Great News, but you know this party as well as I know I do so many companies are announcing layoffs or hiring freezes. So what's going on here? I think a little bit of what's going on is a media bias. You know, a lot of the companies announcing layoffs are bigger names, tech companies tend to be the first sector to start laying people off because it's a big part of their culture to hire fast, grow fast. And then if the economy starts taking a bit of a downturn, they have to cut costs. We've seen a few big companies like walmart or Credit Suisse or big brands like that, doing layoffs, but overall, um like the numbers show the job market is still doing very well. I mean we have to remember that small businesses make up more than 90% of our economy and those people still need to hire and high prices just don't affect lower income families, all of us bear the burden. So when it comes to inflation, how will increase wages, impact the Fed's decision. And of course price changes, increased wages and a good job market are a little bit of a mixed bag when we think about the future and what the Fed is going to do because it signals to them that the economy is maybe still a little too hot and they need to raise interest rates to slow consumption. Um, and you know, that can be discouraging in the in the future for people. But um, but for now, you know, you can feel good to find a job and when we're thinking day to day, that's that's a big deal for a lot of americans. Yeah, of course. And overall, like you mentioned, this is a good report. Despite the strong report, though, there's some demographics that continue to struggle. Can you talk to me about those and why people in those sectors are having a harder time finding a job? That's right. I mean, we've had, as, you know, and I'm sure all your watchers know, we have had a long standing legacy of discrimination in this country against women and people of color. And that hasn't changed. It's still harder for those groups to find jobs. They get hired much slower. But also, we're still having a child care crisis in this country. A lot of women and other parents can't go back to work because they simply can't find someone to take care of their kids. And then we have to remember to the pandemic is still ongoing. There's still a lot of people who are worried about getting covid and that really limits their job prospects as well. What's your outlook for employment going forward, especially for those vulnerable groups? Can job growth that we're seeing be sustained here? Party job growth will probably begin to slow over the next six months to a year. Really, that's what the Fed wants to see. They want to see the economy slowing down a little bit. Alright, Barney Scott, senior editor of Economy at Insider. We appreciate your time, marty as always.