The surge in U.S. employment could spur the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates earlier than anticipated, an economist with the 10,000-member Connecticut Business & Industry Association said recently.
According to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, 321,000 jobs were added across the U.S. in November.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8 percent, but that”™s good news, said Peter Gioia, economist for the CBIA.
“We saw 119,000 people join the labor force last month and that”™s important because it means some previously discouraged workers have started to look for jobs again,” Gioia said.
It is not only the job numbers that are important for businesses, he said.
Gioia said most analysts expect that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates until at least September 2015. “However, if we see two or three more jobs reports like this, businesses should be alert for an earlier federal action,” he said.
Last month, Connecticut reported a gain of 3,600 jobs in October. The unemployment rate remained unchanged from the previous month at 6.4 percent.
Connecticut has only recovered 74 percent of the jobs lost during the recession, while the nation as a whole has regained all jobs lost, the CBIA reported.
The CBIA noted that next month Connecticut legislators will be back in session “to tackle a budget deficit for the current fiscal year and projected shortfalls for the next budget cycle.”
Gioia said that if lawmakers make decisions that support economic competitiveness and business growth, Connecticut will be able to take full advantage of the national economic recovery and put more people back to work.
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