According to the Labor Department, payrolls grew by 236,000 for the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate for 238,000 and below the upwardly revised 326,000 in February. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 3.5%, against expectations that it would hold at 3.6%, with the decrease coming as labor force participation increased to its highest level since before the Covid pandemic.

In this episode of The Higher Standard, Chris and Saied examine this news and determine the effect it will have on the economy as a whole.

They discuss Nouriel Roubini's continued calls for disaster, stating that neither the US central bank nor the federal government will have the maneuvering room needed to sufficiently stimulate the economy.

Chris and Saied look at a survey by recruiter Robert Walters of 3,000 white collar workers who moved jobs during the pandemic, found that 71% wanted to return to their pre-pandemic employer.

They also offer some thoughts on a report from Walmart indicating that it expects about 65% of its stores to be serviced by automation by the end of its fiscal year 2026, just days after revealing plans to lay off more than 2,000 people at facilities that fulfill online orders.

Join Chris and Saied for this fascinating and informative conversation.

Enjoy!

What You’ll Learn in this Show:

• Why job growth in March is not ideal when the Fed is taken into account.
• Why a strong jobs report hurts the services inflation, something that has not come down since the last CPI report.
• Why the Saudis and OPEC are moving away from the US dollar.
• Insight on community banks and their loan loss provisions.
• And so much more...

Resources:

"Bosses are training employees to be influencers - after long discouraging social media posts about work" (Forbes via Instagram)

"Who is Nouriel Roubini, Wall Street's 'Dr. Doom' economist who has warned of catastrophe for 2 decades?" (Markets Insider)

"Morgan Stanley analysts are forecasting something ‘worse than in the Great Financial Crisis’ for commercial real estate" (Yahoo! Finance)

"Bank Failures. High Inflation. Rising Rates. Is the Resilient Jobs Market About to Crack?" (The Wall Street Journal)

"Private payrolls rose by 145,000 in March, well below expectations, ADP says" (CNBC)

"Job growth totals 236,000 in March, near expectations as hiring pace slows" (CNBC)

"Bosses Want Hard Workers — So They’re Hiring Older People" (The Wall Street Journal)

"Great Resignation becomes Great Regret as workers long for their pre-Covid jobs" (Yahoo! Finance)

"Walmart aims for 65% of stores to be automation serviced by 2026" (Yahoo! Finance)

"Here's how many U.S. workers ChatGPT says it could replace" (Yahoo! Finance)

"The coming commercial real estate crash that may never happen" (CNBC)

"Diddy still pays Sting ‘$5,000 a day’ for sampling his hit song ‘Every Breath You Take’ 26 years ago" (CNBC)

"U.S. Debt to GDP Ratio 1989-2023" (Macrotrends)