Peter's Blog

Hiring Slows in 5 out of 8 Sectors

The May jobs report was widely regarded as strong. The US economy added 390,000 jobs, according to the latest data. But a deeper dive into that data reveals that the labor market might not be as strong as the mainstream spin is leading you to believe. Even with all the new jobs, hiring slowed in […]

A Very Average Jobs Report

According to the BLS, the economy added 428k jobs in April. This exactly matched the March number after it was revised down by 3k. The unemployment rate stayed flat at 3.6%. The Labor Force Participation rate dropped from 62.4% to 62.2%. YoY, this April is up 165k jobs compared to last April.

Was March a Strong Jobs Report? Maybe…

According to the BLS, the economy added 431k jobs in March. February was revised up to 750k from an original 678k. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6%. It would appear this was another strong jobs report. But when you did into the data, it’s not that clear-cut.

February was a Strong Jobs Report Across All Measures

February was another very strong jobs month with the economy adding an estimated 678,000 jobs vs an expected 400,000. The unemployment rate came in at 3.8%, down from 4%. Labor force participation also improved, rising from 62.2% to 62.3%. Both December and January numbers were revised upwards.

Comex Results February Becomes the Month of Adjustments

There have been some major adjustments to headline data numbers so far in February from the BLS, the Fed, and now the Comex. This analysis focuses on gold and silver delivery volume on the Comex. See the article What is the Comex for more detail.

This Jobs Report Revealed Strength in Inflation, Not the Labor Market

The January jobs report came in much stronger than expected. According to the labor department, the US economy added 467,000 jobs last month. This was significantly better than the 150,000 job projection. But there was some bad inflation news buried in the Labor Department data.

Don’t Get Too Excited; Most of These Revised Job Gains Were Already Counted

January showed very strong growth with 467k new jobs reported by the BLS. This crushed expectations of 150k. Some analysts even projected a contraction given the reported loss by ADP on Wednesday. However, the bigger story is the revisions of prior months. October to December saw upward revisions of nearly 900k jobs! The story is […]

Perceptions: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap Jan. 21, 2022

It is often said that perception is reality. Politicians spend a tremendous amount of time and energy trying to shape perceptions. So, how does the average American perceive the US economy? In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey talks about economic perceptions – both those the politicians are trying to create […]

Joe Biden’s Economic Dumb-Guy Argument

President Joe Biden is running around trying to take credit for a “booming” economy. It’s the ultimate political dumb-guy argument.

December Jobs: All but One Category are Way Behind 12-Month Trend

November had been the weakest jobs report of the year until a meager 199k were announced for December. As shown below, over the last 18 months, only December 2020 was weaker. This was right when the Covid second wave was wreaking havoc and before vaccines became available to the public.