The November spike in inflation caused consumer confidence to fall to its lowest level for 10 years. Policymakers were unable to make the case that the present price increase is temporary.
This was due to workers leaving their jobs, which set a new record in an employment market with nearly three million more jobs than people seeking them.
According to Friday’s Labor Department report, this was a sign that the market is in good shape. This number was even higher than the previous record. August’s 4.27 millionAlso a record, the quits rate has been increased to 3% from its original percentage.
The University of Michigan is also available. Consumer Sentiment IndexAccording to preliminary data Friday, the November reading was 66.8. It was the lowest level since November 2011; it is also well below the Dow Jones estimation of 72.5. It was 71.7 in October, which means the November reading represented 6.8% of a drop.
Consumers still expect higher inflation rates, according to the survey. The 12-month forecast was at 4.9%.
Richard Curtin (the survey’s chief economic economist) stated that “Consumer sentiment dropped in November to its lowest point in 10 years due to an increasing inflation rate and the belief of consumers that no effective policy has yet been created to mitigate the effects from the surging inflation.”
According to the survey, 14% of consumers expected to lower their standard of living due price rises. Half of families also anticipated lower incomes in the next year, adjusted for inflation.
The apparent robust gains in average hourly earnings (which rose by 4.9% last October compared to a year earlier) haven’t kept up with inflation. Real wages fell 1.2% in the same time period in 2020.
Curtin stated, “Rising home, vehicle, and durable prices were reported more often than any other time during more than 50 years,” Curtin continued.
Also, the gauge indicated low confidence that policymakers will be able to control inflation. October’s rate was 6.2%, according to The Associated Press. consumer price index released Wednesday.
This is the news about consumer sentiment. Joe BidenConsumers worry more about inflation and the popularity of ‘popular music’ is falling.
This week, the White House rolled out a few proposalTo help alleviate the cargo backlogs in major ports, s. As the government tries to curb fossil fuel use, tie-ups within supply chains contribute to price rises.
As it tries to fulfill its mandate of price stability and not raise interest rates, the Federal Reserve is also facing a similar problem. Last week, officials at central banks stated that they anticipate this. to start withdrawing their policy supportHowever, this will be done incrementally, with small decreases in monthly bonds purchases, until the program’s completion, which is likely to occur by summer 2022.
Republican critics accuse the Fed’s loose policy and trillions of dollars in government spending for fueling the inflation fire. Biden, as well Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that inflationary pressures will ease in the second half of next year.
Job quits hit a record
Workers left in record numbers in September despite continuing negative feelings about the economy.
For the September month of last year, which had a quits rate of 2.3%, it was actually 1.1 million more.
The industry-level quits rate in leisure and hospitality increased to 6.4%. This is a 0.3% increase from one month ago. It was also up 0.3 percent due to an increase in arts, entertainment, and recreation which jumped to 5.7%, from 3.2%. As is usual, accommodation and food services remained steady at 6.6%.
Most people who quit this year have moved to higher-paying jobs.
Atlanta Fed’s wage tracker showed that September saw pay rise by 3.6% over a previous year. However, job-changers experienced a 4.3% increase. The gains have been biased towards higher-earning earners with the highest quartile experiencing a 12.9% increase in their earnings.
The month saw 6.46 Million hires, which is a slight decrease from August.
This exodus came about because the number of jobs was still high.
According to the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, there are 10.44 millions employment opportunities. This is well over the 7.68million people who were looking for work in September. JOLTS data is a month behind nonfarm payrolls reports.
FactSet estimates that September’s job openings will reach 10.46 million.
