Hiring is also likely to slow because the 3.8% unemployment rate, which is near a 50-year low, is expected to fall further, making it even tougher for businesses to find qualified workers. Average monthly job growth was a surprisingly strong 223,000 last year but is forecast to throttle back to about 170,000 this year.
Wage growth steady
Average hourly earnings rose 6 cents to $27.70, keeping the annual gain at 3.2%.
Pay increases generally have topped 3% since last year as employers compete for a shrinking supply of workers. But they haven’t ratcheted higher in recent months, helping the Federal Reserve remain on hold as it waits to see if now-subdued inflation starts to pick up, forcing it to raise rates again, or if the economy weakens enough to prompt a rate cut.
