Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
US Hiring Slows Amid Trade Tensions, Weaker Global Economy
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
June 7, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — U.S. hiring stumbled in May as employers added just 75,000 jobs, a sign that businesses have become more cautious in the face of weaker global growth and widening trade conflicts.
Last month’s modest job gain followed a much healthier increase of 224,000 in April. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate remained at a nearly 50-year low of 3.6%.
The tepid job growth, along with rising pressures on the economy, makes it more likely that the Federal Reserve will cut rates in the coming months. Bond yields fell after the jobs data was released, signaling expectations for lower Fed rates. Stock investors, too, signaled their approval, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up about 250 points by midday.
On Friday, the government also revised down the economy’s hiring gains for March and April by a combined 75,000. In the first five months of the year, job growth has averaged 164,000 a month, a solid pace that is enough to lower the unemployment rate over time. Still, it’s below last year’s pace of 225,000.
The economy is showing signs of sluggishness just as the expansion has reached its 10th anniversary. Next month, it will become the longest period of uninterrupted growth on records dating to 1854. Yet consumers have turned cautious about spending, and companies are scaling back their investment in high-cost machinery and equipment.

Smallest Annual Increase Since September

Economists cautioned that May’s job figures cover just one month and that broader trends indicate that hiring remains steady. But they also noted that May’s weaker hiring data preceded President Donald Trump’s threat last week to impose 5% tariffs on Mexico. So the full impact of the trade fights will likely show up in coming months.

“This looks like an economy that is slowing down, which does not mean that we’re necessarily entering a recession. Coming in the context of tariffs and other economic headwinds makes this number more worrisome.” — Martha Gimbel, director of economic research, Indeed
“This looks like an economy that is slowing down, which does not mean that we’re necessarily entering a recession,” said Martha Gimbel, director of economic research at the job listings site Indeed. “Coming in the context of tariffs and other economic headwinds makes this number more worrisome.”
The economy expanded at a healthy 3.1% annual rate in the January-March quarter, but the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimates that annual growth will slump to just 1.5% in the April-June quarter.
The deceleration in hiring could mean that some employers are just having trouble finding the workers they need, given that the pool of unemployed is comparatively small. But if so, then wages should be rising faster than they are as employers compete for workers.
But average hourly pay rose just 3.1% in May from a year earlier, down slightly from last month’s year-over-year gain of 3.2%. That was the smallest such annual increase since September. Smaller raises, combined with slower hiring, could diminish consumers’ willingness to spend in the coming months.
Photo of Jerome Powell
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks Tuesday at a Chicago conference involving its review of its interest-rate policy strategy and communications. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Employers in Several Industries Cut Payrolls

Hiring was weak across a broad range of industries in May. Manufacturers added only 3,000 jobs, a fourth straight month of anemic gains. Construction companies hired just 4,000, financial services only 2,000.
Employers in several industries cut payrolls. Retailers shed workers for a fifth straight month as stores struggle with online competition. A category that includes telecom, publishing, and media shed 5,000 jobs. Federal, state and local governments cut a combined 15,000.
Still, software and technology firms remain a bright spot. Paul McDonald, a senior executive at the staffing firm Robert Half International, said that mobile app developers, data analysts, coders, and senior financial analysts are still typically receiving multiple offers and strong pay gains.
“It’s still a job seeker’s market,” he said.
Keeper Security, a cybersecurity firm, said last month that it would expand its Chicago headquarters and add 130 jobs over the next six months to its roughly 160 current staff.
CEO Darren Guccione said his company hasn’t had much trouble finding candidates to fill its programming, sales and marketing jobs. The company hires software developers in its Sacramento office, and is able to attract employees who are tired of the high cost of living in San Francisco.

Tariffs Have Affected Manufacturing and Retail Firms

“We’re seeing great pools of candidates,” he said.

The tariffs have affected manufacturing and retail firms more than they have software companies and have become a growing threat to the economy. Last month, Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10% to 25%.
Trade conflicts have had no impact on the company, Guccione added.
The tariffs have affected manufacturing and retail firms more than they have software companies and have become a growing threat to the economy. Last month, Trump increased tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10% to 25%.
And last week, he threatened to impose 5% tariffs on all Mexican imports to the United States beginning Monday. Those taxes would rise each month until they reach 25% in October unless the Mexican government cuts off a flow of Central American migrants entering the United States from through Mexico.
The higher costs from the import taxes — and the potential for more — are causing some companies to scale back plans for spending, investment and expansion. A strong dollar, which makes U.S. goods costlier overseas, has also slowed the production and export of manufactured goods. Factory output fell 0.5% in April, according to a Fed report.
Automakers are cutting jobs and production as U.S. sales have declined. Analysts expect auto sales to fall below 17 million this year after four years above that level.

DON'T MISS

Will Juan Soto Top Shohei Ohtani’s Deal? It Depends on the Accounting Tricks

DON'T MISS

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Announces Bid for Top Oversight Job as Democrats Push for Generational Change

DON'T MISS

Biden Is Considering Preemptive Pardons for Officials and Allies Before Trump Takes Office

DON'T MISS

Cher’s Fresno Connections Revealed in Superstar Entertainer’s New Memoir

DON'T MISS

Could Dark Chocolate Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Video Cameras Help Detectives Arrest Road Rage Shooter

DON'T MISS

Who Are the Winners in Local Close-as-a-Whisker Political Races?

DON'T MISS

USDA Orders Nationwide Testing of Milk for Bird Flu to Halt the Virus

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Sergeant Injured While Taking Down Suspect. Two Arrested.

DON'T MISS

Police Found No Evidence of a Threat at California Capitol After Evacuation

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Sergeant Injured While Taking Down Suspect. Two Arrested.

UP NEXT

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts Around Its Records After a Solid Jobs Report

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Will Decide if Palestinian Authorities Can Be Sued in US Over Middle East Attacks

UP NEXT

Judge Upholds Use of Race in Naval Academy Admissions, Saying a Diverse Military Is Stronger

UP NEXT

3 Climbers From the US and Canada Are Believed to Have Died in a Fall on New Zealand’s Highest Peak

UP NEXT

US Added a Strong 227,000 Jobs in November in Bounce-Back From October Slowdown

UP NEXT

Hunt for the Gunman Who Killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Heads Into Third Day as New Clues Emerge

UP NEXT

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Law Requiring Sale or Ban of TikTok in the US

UP NEXT

The Year in Review: Influential People Who Died in 2024

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: Is Fresno’s Project Labor Agreement Meeting Local Hiring Goals?

Cher’s Fresno Connections Revealed in Superstar Entertainer’s New Memoir

6 hours ago

Could Dark Chocolate Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes?

7 hours ago

Fresno Video Cameras Help Detectives Arrest Road Rage Shooter

7 hours ago

Who Are the Winners in Local Close-as-a-Whisker Political Races?

7 hours ago

USDA Orders Nationwide Testing of Milk for Bird Flu to Halt the Virus

8 hours ago

Fresno Police Sergeant Injured While Taking Down Suspect. Two Arrested.

8 hours ago

Police Found No Evidence of a Threat at California Capitol After Evacuation

8 hours ago

Fresno State Signs 10 Football Recruits Same Day It Hires Matt Entz

9 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts Around Its Records After a Solid Jobs Report

9 hours ago

Supreme Court Will Decide if Palestinian Authorities Can Be Sued in US Over Middle East Attacks

9 hours ago

Will Juan Soto Top Shohei Ohtani’s Deal? It Depends on the Accounting Tricks

NEW YORK — Deciding whether Juan Soto tops Shohei Ohtani for baseball’s largest contract could be in the eye of the beholder because o...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Will Juan Soto Top Shohei Ohtani’s Deal? It Depends on the Accounting Tricks

5 hours ago

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Announces Bid for Top Oversight Job as Democrats Push for Generational Change

5 hours ago

Biden Is Considering Preemptive Pardons for Officials and Allies Before Trump Takes Office

6 hours ago

Cher’s Fresno Connections Revealed in Superstar Entertainer’s New Memoir

A study suggests that consuming dark chocolate may lower the risk of Type 2 diabetes, though causation remains unproven. (Shutterstock)
7 hours ago

Could Dark Chocolate Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes?

A 27-year-old Selma man, Julian Angelo Gonzales, was arrested for a road rage shooting that injured a woman after a brief verbal altercation on December 3, 2024. (Fresno PD)
7 hours ago

Fresno Video Cameras Help Detectives Arrest Road Rage Shooter

7 hours ago

Who Are the Winners in Local Close-as-a-Whisker Political Races?

8 hours ago

USDA Orders Nationwide Testing of Milk for Bird Flu to Halt the Virus

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend