U.S. Economic News
September 6, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
The U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in August, below expectations. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, the labor force participation rate edged up to 63.2%, and average hourly earnings annual growth edged down to 3.2%. BLS Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that a recent study by Fed economists found that uncertainty over trade policy is likely to reduce U.S. economic output by more than 1% through early 2020. The study reported that uncertainty in the first half of 2018 reduced economic output by around 0.8%, with the wave of renewed uncertainty since May 2019 likely to put downward pressure on growth well into next year. WSJ
The Financial Times reports that Vietnam has pledged to import more U.S. goods, including energy and agricultural products, to avoid the impression that it is profiting unfairly from the U.S.-China trade war. Vietnamese officials are concerned that as more U.S. companies shift operations from China to Vietnam, the U.S. could respond by imposing punitive tariffs on Vietnamese goods as well. FT