Productivity

The labor market is really softening now.

The September 2023 labor market data continued to show a strong labor market. The headline unemployment rate remained steady at 3.8%, and the establishment survey showed an eye-popping 336,000 jobs added in September—alongside an upwards revision of 79,000 and 40,000 jobs in July and August.

This is the first of our Fed Research Roundup series. In this post, we examine the question of whether monetary policy constrains the supply-side, and what that means for inflation.

From the outset, I should say that I am a bigger skeptic of productivity data than most. Once you know how the sausage is made, you will be more skeptical of how it is typically served to customers. Nevertheless, I'm about to lay out three reasons, based on

Is productivity worryingly low right now? Some commentators have argued it is, going on to argue that the "disappointing" productivity data should be a primary factor in the Fed's upcoming policy decisions. By their logic, disappointing realized productivity performance in 2022 increases the likelihood of further