Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Saturday 3 November 2018
A25

Wages surge as US adds a robust 250,000 jobs in October

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER ed 32,000 after two months
Associated Press of smaller gains, defying
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. fears that Trump’s trade
businesses ramped up hir- fights would slow hiring in
ing in October, and wages that sector. Construction
rose by the largest year- companies added 30,000
over-year amount in nearly positions.
a decade, a combination Retailers barely hired, add-
that is pulling a rising share ing just 2,400 positions, pos-
of Americans into the job sibly reflecting the Sears
market. bankruptcy. Restaurants
In the final major economic and hotels gained 33,000,
report before Tuesday’s most of them lower-pay-
congressional elections, ing.
the government said Friday In the July-September
that U.S. employers added quarter, consumer spend-
a robust 250,000 jobs in Oc- ing grew by the most in
tober. The unemployment four years and helped the
rate stayed at a five-de- economy expand at a 3.5
cade low of 3.7 percent. percent annual rate. That
Healthy economic growth growth followed a 4.2 per-
is spurring employers to hire cent annual pace in the
at a rapid pace that shows April-June quarter. Com-
no sign of flagging even bined, the two quarters
with the economy in its 10th produced the strongest six-
year of expansion. With month stretch of growth in
the supply of unemployed four years.
dwindling, companies ap- Housing remains a weak
pear to be finally putting spot in the economy, with
up generous enough pay In this Jan. 30, 2018, file photo, Loredana Gonzalez, of Doral, Fla., fills out a job application at a sales of existing homes
raises to attract and retain JobNewsUSA job fair in Miami Lakes, Fla. having fallen for six straight
employees. Associated Press months as mortgage rates
Average hourly wages rose Sohn, chief economist at SS degree. The strong job growth and have risen to nearly 5 per-
3.1 percent in October Economics. “Evidently, the “We absolutely see em- bigger pay increases will cent. But slower sales have
from a year earlier, the fast- word has spread that there ployers getting more and likely encourage the Fed- started to limit home price
est annual gain since 2009. are good jobs to be had at more creative about ways eral Reserve to keep raising increases, which had been
Still, inflation has picked decent wages.” to get people in,” Frankie- short-term interest rates. running at more than twice
up a bit in the past year as Cheyenne Mauzy of Spring- wicz said. Most analysts expect the the pace of wage gains.
well, eating away at some field, Missouri, had held out By some measures, con- Fed to resume its rate hikes Although pay increases
of those pay raises. And for higher pay when she sumers are the most confi- in December. can help boost spending
the increase in wages last started job hunting in June. dent they have been in 18 Hurricane Michael, which and propel the economy’s
month also partly reflected She felt she needed a high years, and their spending is slammed into the Florida growth, they can also lead
a one-time drop in pay a enough hourly wage to propelling brisk economic Panhandle and southern companies to raise prices
year ago because of Hur- make up for the cost of growth. The economic ex- Georgia last month, had to cover their higher labor
ricane Harvey. child care for her three chil- pansion is now the second- no discernible effect on the costs. That trend, in turn,
Even so, October’s in- dren. longest on record, and jobs data, the government can accelerate inflation.
crease suggests that after a “There was a minimum we October marked the 97th said. Still, October’s outsize So far, though, inflation re-
decade of anemic growth, had to make,” Mauzy, 28, straight month of hiring, a gain might have reflected, mains in check.
wage growth is picking up. said, referring to calcula- record streak. in part, a rebound from The Federal Reserve’s pre-
At the same time, an in- tions she made with her Strength in their customer September, when Hurri- ferred price measure rose
flux of new job-seekers in- husband. “I had to bring demand has been a key cane Florence depressed 2 percent in September
creased the proportion of home enough on top of factor leading companies job growth. compared with a year ear-
Americans with jobs to its child care. If I am just going to steadily add workers. Hiring in October was lier, slightly lower than the
highest level since 2009. to work to pay for our child Though economists have strong in higher- and mid- year-over-year increase in
The economy has now care, I should be our child predicted that hiring will dle-income jobs. Profes- August.q
added jobs for 97 straight care.” eventually slow as the pool sional and business ser-
months, a record. That In late August, she took a of unemployed Americans vices, which include engi-
steady hiring has helped job at a hospital in Spring- dwindles, there’s no sign of neers, architects and ac-
reduce the unemploy- field that pays $11.22 an that happening yet. countants, gained 35,000
ment rate for Latinos to hour. Still, the latest month of jobs. Manufacturers add-
4.4 percent, a record low. Becky Frankiewicz, presi- healthy job growth might
Teenage unemployment dent of staffing firm Man- not tip many votes in the
dropped last month to 11.9 powerGroup North Ameri- midterm elections. Polls
percent, also the lowest on ca, said companies are try- have suggested that while
records. And the propor- ing a variety of strategies to Americans generally ap-
tion of Americans without fill jobs. Many retailers are prove of the economy’s
a high school degree who removing the label “sea- performance, that senti-
are working has reached sonal” from their job post- ment hasn’t necessar-
the highest point on re- ings and looking for per- ily broadened support for
cords dating from 1992. manent workers instead. President Donald Trump or
“It doesn’t get any better Others are dropping their for Republican congressio-
than this,” said Sun Wong requirements for a college nal candidates.