Company payrolls have expanded in recent months, but the number of employed Americans has declined. The paradoxical results stem from the findings of two different government surveys and could indicate that U.S. job growth has been somewhat weaker than it appeared.
Non-farm companies added over 1.1 million employees in April, May, and June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) establishment survey. In the same period, the total employment level in the country declined by nearly 350,000, the Census Bureau household survey said.
The numbers discrepancy could indicate that the labor market hasn’t been as hot as the establishment survey indicated. That could have significant consequences because the state of the labor market serves businesses, traders, investors, and policymakers to calibrate their decisions. The Federal Reserve uses employment statistics as a crucial input into whether to expand or tighten the money supply, which has tended to cause stock markets to rise or fall. In recent months, the Fed has been gradually tightening monetary policy, acting on the assumption that there are too many job openings….