1 |
The US economy expanded at an annual rate of 3% in the 3rd Quarter, just short of 3.1% in the 2nd Quarter, and very impressive considering the impact of the hurricanes. |
| 2 | The economy added 261K jobs in October. The average monthly job gains over the past three months is 162K and in line with the levels seen earlier in the year. |
| 3 | The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey, unexpectedly declined from 4.2% to 4.1%, which is the lowest level since December 2000. |
| 4 | Since the drop in unemployment was due to a large number of people choosing to leave the labor force rather than more people finding jobs, this was not viewed as a sign of strength. |
| 5 | At last Wednesday's meeting, the Fed held the Federal Funds rate steady and made no significant change to policy. |
| 6 | President Trump has nominated Jerome Powell to start as Fed Chair in February, a move that is expected to maintain a course of monetary policy similar to the current one. |
SOURCE: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org