U.S. Economic News
October 6, 2017
U.S. Economic Indicators
The U.S. economy shed 33,000 jobs in September, well below consensus. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, the labor force participation rate jumped to 63.1%, and average hourly earnings accelerated to 2.9% Y/Y. BLS Report
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that wholesale merchant inventories rose 0.9% in August to $608.1 billion. Inventories were up 4.5% year-over-year. Census Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration plans to demand a specific level of U.S.-made inputs for automobiles made in North American to qualify for tariff breaks. The proposal has already received staunch opposition from Mexican and Canadian negotiators, who say that the requirements would defeat the purpose of a free trade agreement. WSJ
Richard Rubin of the Wall Street Journal writes that GOP efforts to repeal the estate tax are receiving resistance from other Congressional Republicans. While the current GOP tax reform framework includes a repeal of the estate tax, some Republicans have said that they would be willing to keep the tax in place in order to convince holdouts to vote for the tax plan. WSJ
Ben Casselman of the New York Times argues that many of the effects of the Great Recession are still being felt around the country. Casselman contends that the hardest-hit areas of the country still have not recovered from the recession, as some workers still struggle to find work and others have left the labor force altogether. NYT