A recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a steady labor market right now—but one that is growing more uncertain, according to Automotive Dive.
Last month, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 139,000, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. Ger Doyle, regional president of North America at ManpowerGroup, described the labor market as being “steady but cautious.”
“Employees are staying put, employers are holding steady, and everyone is waiting for clearer signals,” said Doyle.
Cory Stahle, Indeed Hiring Lab economist, pointed out that while there was a decent number of jobs added in the past month, there are signs of the market softening. There may not be much more room for it to slow down before unemployment will rise to an impactful level, Stahle added.
Additionally, Stahle shared that unexpectedly strong data from earlier this year has been shown to be less impactful, following large downward revisions to previous data.
“This isn’t a bad report, per se, but there are clear signs of erosion just below the surface that may not be apparent just by looking only at the headline numbers,” said Stahle.
