Payroll job growth in the United States has slowed over the past year, but the unemployment rate has remained mostly unchanged. This situation has led policymakers to consider whether labor supply is also slowing.
A recent SF Fed Blog post by Leila Bengali, Ingrid Chen, Addie New-Schmidt, and Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau examines this issue. The authors find that when labor market data are properly adjusted, the growth in labor supply is slowing at about the same pace as payroll job growth.
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco states its role is to “advance the nation’s monetary, financial, and payment systems to build a stronger economy for all Americans.” The institution serves the Twelfth Federal Reserve District, which includes nine western states—Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai’i, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington—as well as American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. According to its statement: “By pursuing our two key goals of maximum employment and price stability—known as the Fed’s dual mandate—we work toward supporting an economy that works for everyone.”
