U.S. Adds 236,000 Jobs But Inflation Eases

US employers added a solid 236,000 jobs in March, suggesting the economy remains on solid footing despite the nine interest rate hikes the Federal Reserve has imposed over the past year in its drive to tame inflation, Paul Wiseman reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: Inflationary pressures might be easing and the Fed might soon decide to pause its rate hikes.

It also shatters the Fed’s dogma that higher employment worsens the inflation rate, contrary to the findings of a top economist at Societe Generale that big corporations cause a spike in inflation through their price gouging, raising prices to the detriment of consumers and to the benefit of their stockholders and executives.

The same study showed that during the pandemic, billionaires doubled their wealth and corporations increased their profits, Anne D’Innocenzio also reported for AP.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, just above the 53-year low of 3.4% in January. Details of the most recent report from the Labor Department raised the possibility that inflationary pressures might be easing and the Fed might soon decide to pause its rate hikes.

Average hourly wages were up 4.2% from 12 months earlier, down sharply from a 4.6% year-over-year increase in February. Measured month to month, wages rose 0.3% from February to March, up from a mild 0.2% gain from January to February.

The figure signaled a slowdown from average wage increases in the final months of 2022.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic