National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) Chief Economist Curt Long issued the following statement in response to the Labor Department’s September employment report, released this morning.
"The lousy returns from the September jobs report will make little impression on observers, who essentially gave the labor market a free pass due to the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma," said Long. "Both the 33,000 job decline and the rise in wage growth to a level which matches the highest point of the recovery will be downplayed, as many of the lost jobs were likely in low-wage areas. Restaurants accounted for over 100,000 job losses. This outlook likely extends to the Fed as well, as officials seem set on a December rate hike."