Economics
U.S. Jobs & Labor Report: May 2023
Report summary
By most measures, the U.S. labor market remains strong. Payrolls increased by 236,000 in March, unemployment is near historic lows, relatively few U.S. adults are experiencing income losses and available jobs far outnumber job seekers. Though job growth has slowed, it remains robust compared to historic trends. Nominal wage growth is likewise still strong, especially among job switchers, with Morning Consult data showing that a rising share of employed U.S. adults are being drawn into an active job search.
Key Takeaways
- Morning Consult’s Lost Pay and Income Tracker bounced higher, with the share of U.S. adults reporting lost pay or income rising from 9.5% in March to 10.7% in April.
- While largely flat month over month, job search activity among employed U.S. adults has risen considerably since the start of the year.
- More U.S. workers are worried about a potential slowdown, with the share of employed adults who expect to experience a loss of employment income up considerably from the start of the year.
About the authors
John Leer leads Morning Consult’s global economic research, overseeing the company’s economic data collection, validation and analysis. He is an authority on the effects of consumer preferences, expectations and experiences on purchasing patterns, prices and employment.
John continues to advance scholarship in the field of economics, recently partnering with researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland to design a new approach to measuring consumers’ inflation expectations.
This novel approach, now known as the Indirect Consumer Inflation Expectations measure, leverages Morning Consult’s high-frequency survey data to capture unique insights into consumers’ expectations for future inflation.
Prior to Morning Consult, John worked for Promontory Financial Group, offering strategic solutions to financial services firms on matters including credit risk modeling and management, corporate governance, and compliance risk management.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and philosophy with honors from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in economics and management studies (MEMS) from Humboldt University in Berlin.
His analysis has been cited in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Washington Post, The Economist and more.
Follow him on Twitter @JohnCLeer. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected]
Jesse Wheeler previously worked at Morning Consult as a senior economist.
