Little chance of Recession in 2020: If International Tensions Don't Escalate
State Minimum-Wage Increases Have Boosted Average Incomes

The November jobs report  shows a strong, fully employed economy. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose 266 thousand, substantially above the market expectation of 185 thousand jobs.  Within the private sector, manufacturing employment increased by 54 thousand, boosted by 46 thousand G M strikers who returned to work.  The service producing sector, 70 percent of the workforce, created 206 thousand jobs.  Job creation was broad-based throughout  the economy, with most industries showing increased hiring.

By Bernard E. Anderson, PhD
Whitney M. Young Professor Emeritus, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Chief Economic Advisor, National Urban League

Steady, sustained job creation has led to a narrowing of the unemployment gap between white and Black Americans, the October Jobs Report shows.

While the Black unemployment rate has steadily fallen over the last decade, it generally remained about twice the rate for whites.  However, in October , the Black unemployment rate declined  by 0.1 of a percentage point to 5.4 %, while the white unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.2%.  This has resulted in a Black-white unemployment gap of 1.69, measurably lower than the 2:1 ratio that persisted for most of the last two decades in good times and bad.

By Bernard Anderson, PhD
Whitney M. Young Professor Emeritus, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Chief Economic Advisor, National Urban League 

While employment continued to grow and the unemployment rate has fallen to a 50-year low, the downside of September’s job report is the pause in wage growth.  And while Black unemployment is historically low, it persistently remains twice the rate for white Americans.