Economics
U.S. Jobs & Labor Report: September 2022
Report summary
The U.S. labor market shrugged off signs of weakness last month. While reports of layoffs and an uptick in unemployment claims suggested cracks were forming this summer, a stellar July jobs report and falling unemployment claims helped to dismiss concerns that the U.S. has tipped into recession. Morning Consult’s lost pay tracker also fell in recent weeks, indicating fewer workers are losing jobs or hours, a signal supported by falling unemployment claims. While the Federal Reserve is pumping the brakes on the U.S. economy, the labor market remains strong for now, potentially providing the extended runway that Chairman Jerome Powell would need to stick a difficult soft landing.
Key Takeaways
- The share of U.S. adults who experienced lost pay or income fell from 11.7% in July to 10.5% in August.
- The share of employed U.S. adults looking to switch jobs moved higher in August after stabilizing in June and July.
- Despite positive movement in job creation and fewer instances of pay loss, job insecurity among U.S. workers rose in August.
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.
