Skanda Amarnath Profile picture
May 5, 2023 10 tweets 4 min read Read on X
Just a remarkable jobs report on virtually all the metrics that should matter, especially if you look through the details. Gonna try to thread all my thoughts in one place this time around.
The Prime-Age 25-54 Employment Rate adjusts for 1) aging and 2) changes in participation.

It reached a new cyclical high, highest in 22yrs.

Biden has already seen 10 months at 80%+
For comparison:
Trump: 7 months
Obama: 0 months
GWB: 18 months
Clinton: 56 months Image
Given where the labor market was in the United States was in January 2021 (substantially deeper hole than most OECD countries, not as much low-hanging fruit)...

The scale of the prime-age employment recovery has been remarkable.

Blows every other recovery out the water ImageImage
Folks who tell you that labor force participation (LFPR) is the critical variable need to take note:

Gains in age-adjusted participation coincide w/ (and are driven by) outright employment gains.

Prime-age LFPR made another historic high. We are not "running out of workers" Image
To the extent that we should disfavor part-time underemployment and favor full-time jobs, the quality of jobs in this recovery has also been strong.

Prime-age *FULL-TIME* employment rates made yet another high!

0.4% gain from 72.2% to 72.6%. Way better than last two decades. Image
This recovery simply doesn't have the generationally disastrous qualities of the previous two recoveries.

The 2000s recovery was basically left incomplete.
The 2010s recovery took over a decade Image
The prime-age employment rate among black and African American persons has been rocketing up, another 0.3% gain from March to April.

Now at 78.4%, just shy of its January 1999 high of 78.8%

So much about this recovery and expansion worth celebrating...*and defending* Image
It's not as if employment gains among one group have come at the expense of other groups.

We are generally seeing a rising tide lift all groups, but especially powerful for those historically marginalized

Employment differentials keep narrowing, and are historically narrow Image
Coming into this report, biggest concern was in the "Permanent job losers" data that tracks layoff dynamics. (Job growth is about hiring vs layoffs)

The risk was rising layoffs might snowball, but permanent job losers fell in April, as did the # of people near-term unemployment ImageImage
Prime-age 25-54 employment rate for women just cleared its April 2000 historical peak.

US remains a laggard vs advanced economies. Given likely household production incidence, need changes to both norms & policies to sustainably support further gains
academic.oup.com/sf/article/97/… Image

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More from @IrvingSwisher

Feb 2
Jobs Day 🧵

Payrolls: Great! But more a sign of lower layoffs in Jan than a hiring uptick (seasonal adj issues here)

Wages: Still solid real wage gains but not spike reflects how weather effects on workweek distort data

Prime age employment: Nice bounce but wanna see more soon
False start...now we're up and running

A nice bounce in the prime-age employment rate, which already adjusts for changes in (1) participation and (2) aging

But even so, it doesn't reverse December's decline. Still 0.3% below peak vs July

Still looks like a slowing labor market Image
The household survey looks weaker when we look at the subset of full-time employment, which naturally controls for part-time underemployment issues. Another decline, now down YoY

No labor market statistic has a monopoly on the truth. Good to take an avg across hot and cold data. Image
Read 6 tweets
Jan 1
Happy New Year!

Ten Thoughts On The Tribal “Transitory” Debate As We Enter 2024
employamerica.org/blog/ten-thoug…
As a preface, let's all calm down...

We have 6-7 months of solid core disinflation to point to. It's fantastic, but there are still potential bumps in the road. Let's get a clean 12 months in first, especially given residual seasonality.

Not yet time for decisive retrospectives Image
1. If people can’t agree on what everyone else meant by “transitory,” the debate is futile Healthy debate requires mutual intelligibility and charity.

Instead, there's plenty of confusion about what each person meant explicitly, leave aside implicitly

Image
Read 18 tweets
Nov 3, 2023
Belated Jobs Day 🧵

Today's numbers aren't a basis for outright pessimism but they do signal the need for caution

Even looking beyond distortions due to the UAW strike, trends in job/wages/hours are cooler across both surveys

Fed needs to take notice & avoid overtightening Image
Nonfarm payroll employment is most frequently cited for job growth:
October readings were held down by the UAW strike, but the hidden story was the downward revision to the previous two months' jobs numbers.

Underlying job growth is still solid in the survey but it's slowing Image
The household survey shows weaker job growth

Prime-age employment rates (which acct for participation, aging) declined again. Full-time also weaker

Similar decline occurred last fall (before reverting). Could just be bad seasonal adjustment but warrants elevated caution rn
Image
Image
Read 7 tweets
Jun 1, 2023
While everyone is fixating on what the ISM Manufacturing number might mean, manufacturers sure do seem to be investing heavily in structures right now

*Real Inflation Adjusted* plant investment is on an absolute tear.

10% in April!

Cc @BrianCDeese @jennifermharris Image
8.7% nominal spending increase.

1.1% through lower costs as per its specific PPI deflator
Construction costs blew out in 2021-22 for a variety of reasons (hot housing market, covid-zero affecting supply chains, Olympic blue affecting building material supply, etc). All of that depressed business construction capex

Supply chain healing now helping the trajectory here Image
Read 4 tweets
Jun 1, 2023
A 🧵 on how everyone who cites unit labor costs as a predictor / explanation for inflation misses the fatal near-tautological error they’re committing (tbc not aimed @KathyJones, who you all should follow).

ULC is supposed reflect “wages divided by productivity” but…
Unit labor costs do not involve any direct measure of an individual business’ unit labor cost. Nor does it involve direct measures of a firm’s wages or productivity. It comes from aggregates

= (Total Labor Comp / Total Hrs Worked) / (Total Real Output / Total Hrs Worked)
Total Hrs Worked drops out of numerator & denominator

ULC = Total Labor Comp / Total Real Output

Slight tracking error due to “nonfarm” concept and labor comp definition when applied to ULC estimate but you should get the idea from this chart overlay Image
Read 9 tweets
May 3, 2023
Now on the @employamerica blog:

Secretary Granholm’s Excuses Don’t Add Up - The DOE Should Be Ready To Buy Now To Refill Later

employamerica.org/blog/secretary…
The spot price of WTI crude oil is now $68.69, squarely in President Biden's committed "buyback range" of $67-72.

But the DOE is not yet prepared to give credible service to the commitment if oil prices stay here more durably, or worse, fall further

whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
The DOE has instead cooked up excuse after excuse for why they cannot possibly be ready to buy now. Allegedly Congressionally mandated SPR sales and scheduled maintenance stop the DOE.

Wrong. The DOE can buy now to refill at a much later date. For a discounted price too!
Read 8 tweets

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