Bilal Baydoun Previews December Jobs Report
January 4, 2024
Bilal Baydoun Previews December Jobs Report
Ahead of tomorrow’s release of the December Jobs Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Groundwork Collaborative Director of Policy and Research Bilal Baydoun previewed the final jobs release of 2023 with the following statement:
“Tomorrow’s jobs report is poised to show the 23rd straight month of unemployment below 4% – a feat not achieved in decades. This data makes it clear: It’s time for Powell to course correct and pivot to rate cuts immediately or risk leaving workers and families out to dry.”
To set up an interview with Bilal Baydoun, email press@groundworkcollaborative.org.
Jobs Day Background
- Inflation has fallen with historically low unemployment: Price growth has steadily slowed since reaching a 40-year high in June 2022. Throughout this period, unemployment has remained below 4%, despite the Fed and other economists’ insistence on the need to drive up unemployment to bring inflation down.
- Wage growth has outpaced inflation: Hourly wage growth outpaced inflation for much of last year, with low-wage workers seeing the greatest share. But if the Fed doesn’t reverse course, this positive wage growth – especially at the bottom – may be short-lived.
- This tight labor market – fueled by public Investment – helped fuel a labor resurgence: On the strength of public investments following the COVID-19 pandemic, workers emerged on firmer footing and began to organize and demand better wages and benefits. In 2023, over half a million workers took to the picket lines, more than doubling the previous year’s tally. And union approval ratings soared, as strong majorities of Americans supported high-profile strikes from autoworkers to nurses, among others. More strikes are expected in 2024.
