Aurelia Butler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. employment increased more than expected in May, while the unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%, signs of a tight labor market that could keep the Federal Reserve’s foot on the brake pedal to cool demand.Nonfarm payrolls increased by 390,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. Data for April was revised higher to show payrolls rising by 436,000 jobs instead of 428,000 as previously estimated.Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls increasing by 325,000 jobs last month. Estimates ranged from as low as 250,000 jobs added to as high as 477,000. The report also showed solid wage gains last month, sketching a picture of an economy that continues to expand, although at a moderate pace. The Fed is trying to dampen labor demand to tame inflation, without driving the unemployment rate too high. The U.S. central bank’s hawkish monetary posture and the accompanying tightening of financial conditions have left investors fearful of a recession next year.Economists are split on whether the moderation in the pace of job growth is because of cooling labor demand or worker shortages. They urge investors to focus on the unemployment rate and wage growth to gauge the tightness of the jobs market. There were 11.4 million job openings at the end of April, with nearly two positions for every unemployed person.The U.S. central bank has increased its policy interest rate by 75 basis points since March. It is expected to hike the overnight rate by half a percentage point at each of its next meetings this month and in July. Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said on Thursday she saw little case for pausing in September.Though the cries of a recession are growing louder, most economists believe the economic expansion will persist through next year. They acknowledged that high inflation was eroding consumers’ purchasing power and business investment, but argued that the economy’s fundamentals were strong and that any downturn would likely be mild. The economy’s outlook has also been dimmed by a weakening global environment in part because of Russia’s war against Ukraine and China’s zero-COVID policy. More

The US economy registered another month of solid jobs growth in May, despite employers grappling with a historically tight labour market.Employers in the world’s largest economy added 390,000 jobs during the month, less than the upwardly revised 436,000 positions created during the previous period but more than economists had expected.The jobless rate steadied at 3.6 per cent, just 0.1 percentage point above the level it stood at in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic spread globally.According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, leisure and hospitality was among the sectors to see “notable” gains. More than 80,000 positions were added in May, with an additional 75,000 professional and business services jobs created as well. Transportation and warehousing employment rose by 47,000. The only sector to see losses was retail, with the number of jobs declining by 61,000.Despite these gains, the rapid recovery of the US labour market — which has far outpaced the sluggish bounceback that characterised the post-global financial crisis period — has been overshadowed in large part by the highest inflation in four decades.With roughly 1.9 vacant positions for every unemployed worker, there are also broad concerns that a prolonged shortfall of people willing to join the labour force will keep upward pressure on prices as employers are forced to continue raising wages and improving benefits in order to attract new hires and keep those already on payroll.The data, which was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, did not show a significant improvement in the share of Americans either employed or looking for work — otherwise known as the labour-force participation rate — but featured another pick-up in monthly wage growth. Average hourly earnings in May rose 0.3 per cent, in line with last month’s increase. On an annual basis, that translates to 5.2 per cent, slightly slower than the 5.5 per cent pace registered in April.President Joe Biden has said tackling high inflation is his administration’s top priority, a message he has sought to fortify in recent days. Earlier this week, he met with Jay Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, and reiterated his support for the US central bank to do what it takes to contain inflation. The Fed has already raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage points since March from the near-zero levels that had been in place since the start of the pandemic. That included the first half-point rate rise since May 2000, a tool top officials have indicated will be used repeatedly in quick succession until there is “clear and convincing” evidence that inflation is coming down.Powell and other policymakers have surmised the Fed will be able to tame price pressures without causing a sharp recession, especially given the strength of the labour market and the sheer magnitude of the demand for workers. As the Fed lifts borrowing costs by raising rates and shrinking its $9tn balance sheet, the hope is that the number of vacancies falls rather than outright job losses mount.According to an analysis by the Financial Times, the variation in labour market tightness between states and across industries is substantial, however, potentially complicating the Fed’s efforts to pull off a “soft landing”.US government bonds sold off after the report, with the benchmark 10-year note trading 0.06 percentage points higher at 2.97 per cent. Two-year Treasury yields, which are most sensitive to changes in monetary policy, rose by a smaller amount, up 0.03 percentage points to 2.66 per cent. More

The billionaire said he has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and that the electric carmaker needs to axe about 10% of its workforce, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.Following is a list of some other U.S. companies that have announced layoffs or frozen hiring to rein in costs:COMPANIES COMMENTS Meta Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) parent Meta said in May it will slow the growth of its workforce Platforms Inc Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) Coinbase will extend its hiring freeze for the foreseeable future and rescind Global Inc a number of accepted offers to deal with current macroeconomic conditions Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) CEO Parag Agrawal said in a memo that the social media company will pause hiring and review existing job offers to determine whether any “should be pulled back” Peloton (NASDAQ:PTON) Peloton in February said it will cut about 2,800 corporate jobs as it looks to Interactive revitalize sagging sales Inc Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) CEO Evan Spiegel in May told employees the company will slow hiring for this year Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Netflix in May said it has laid off about 150 people, mostly in the U.S., as the streaming service company faces slowing growth Carvana Co (NYSE:CVNA) Carvana said it will lay off about 2,500 employees, or 12% of its workforce Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) The retail trading platform said in April it is laying off about 9% of its Markets Inc full-time employees Uber (NYSE:UBER) Uber will scale back hiring and reduce expenditure on its marketing and Technologies incentive activities, Reuters reported in May, citing a letter from the CEO Inc Lyft Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT) The company said in May it will slow down hiring and assess budget cuts in some departments Source:- Regulatory filings, Reuters stories, company websites More

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s annual inflation rate jumped to a 24-year high of 73.5% in May, fuelled by the war in Ukraine, rising energy prices and a tumbling lira — though the figure was slightly lower than economists had feared. Inflation has surged since last autumn, when the lira slumped after the central bank launched a 500 basis-point easing cycle sought by President Tayyip Erdogan. The latest figure surpassed the 73.2% touched in 2002 and is the highest since October 1998, when annual inflation was 76.6% and Turkey was battling to end a decade of chronically high inflation. Nevertheless, the consensus forecast was for annual inflation to rise to 76.55%.Month-on-month consumer prices rose 2.98%, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) said on Friday, compared to a Reuters poll forecast of 4.8%. Transport and food costs have soared by 108% and 92% respectively over the last year, reflecting a deepening economic crisis for Turks struggling to afford basic goods. The domestic producer price index climbed 8.76% month-on-month in May for an annual rise of 132.16%. GRAPHIC: Turkey’s inflation jumps to highest since 1998 (https://graphics.reuters.com/TURKEY-ECONOMY/INFLATION/gdvzyeezkpw/chart.png) SINGLE DIGITS?The lira weakened 0.25% to 16.5050 against the dollar touching its weakest since December. The local currency tumbled 44% in 2021 and another 20% this year.Despite the highest annual rate in Erdogan’s two decades in power, Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) monthly inflation readings are trending lower in a positive sign.Nebati has previously said inflation will fall to single digits in time for next year’s election under an economic programme that prioritises low interest rates, high production and exports, and a current account surplus. However the trade deficit widened 157% year-on-year in May to $10.7 billion, mainly due to energy imports. The central bank forecasts single digit inflation by end-2024. Economists see inflation remaining high for the rest of 2022 and ending the year at 63%, based on a median estimate, up from 52% in last month’s poll. “It is not possible for Turkey, which has gone beyond the rules of the economic doctrine, to solve its key problem of high inflation with its current policies,” said economist Arda Tunca, a columnist at PolitikYol.DATA CREDIBILITYOpposition lawmakers and economists have questioned the reliability of TUIK’s figures, claims TUIK has dismissed. Polls show Turks believe inflation is far higher than official data. In a surprise, TUIK said it stopped publishing average prices of individual items in the inflation basket, which had been listed in a monthly table since 2003.The institute said it will publish an index table showing changes in item groups, as part of Eurostat compliance.”Establishing TUIK’s structure independent from government is as important as the central bank’s independence,” said Mahfi Egilmez, another Turkey-based economist said on Twitter. “Accurate and reliable data production is the first and foremost prerequisite to implementing correct policies.” More

According to Refinitiv Lipper data, investors purchased U.S. bond funds worth a net $7.09 billion in their first week of net buying since Jan. 5. Graphic: Fund flows: US equities, bonds and money market funds – https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/myvmnwrnnpr/Fund%20flows%20US%20equities%20bonds%20and%20money%20market%20funds.jpg U.S. benchmark 10-year yield hit a six-week low last week after minutes from the U.S. central bank’s most recent policy meeting hinted at the potential for a pause in interest rate hikes later in the year, which was also supported by weaker economic data and a slower inflation growth. Investors hope that U.S. jobs data – due on Friday – might sway the Federal Reserve to slow its aggressive pace of interest rate hikes in the coming months. Investors purchased U.S. taxable bond funds worth $4.16 billion and municipal funds worth $2.24 billion. U.S. high yield bond funds obtained $5.61 billion, marking the biggest weekly inflow since June 2020, while inflation protected funds saw outflows of $246 million, which compared with inflows of $1.04 billion a week earlier. Graphic: Fund flows: US bond funds – https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/zdvxoweonpx/Fund%20flows%20US%20bond%20funds.jpg Meanwhile, U.S. equity funds secured $7.22 billion, marking the biggest weekly inflow since March 23. U.S. large-, small- and mid-cap equity funds, all obtained inflows, amounting $3.01 billion, $0.98 billion and $363 million, respectively. Value funds secured inflows for second week in a row, worth $1.41 billion, while growth funds faced outflows of $3.95 billion. Graphic: Fund flows: US growth and value funds – https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/movanzrnjpa/Fund%20flows%20US%20growth%20and%20value%20funds.jpg Healthcare and, metals & mining attracted $959 million and $482 million in net buying, while financials saw capital outgo of $1.08 billion. Graphic: Fund flows: US equity sector funds – https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/gkvlgzegwpb/Fund%20flows%20US%20equity%20sector%20funds.jpg Meanwhile, U.S. money market funds posted outflows of $8.73 billion after purchases of $43.7 billion in the previous week. More