Newsroom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAFCU Chief Economist Curt Long Statement on January Jobs Report

Washington (Feb. 5, 2016) -National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) Chief Economist Curt Long issued the following statement in response to the Labor Dept.'s January employment report.

"The January jobs report reflected a labor market that is slowing. While the addition of 151,000 jobs was enough to reduce the unemployment rate slightly, it is a marked decline from the payroll gains of the fourth quarter," said Long. "Turbulence in the stock market and fears for the prospects of global growth are likely taking a toll, but the overall picture is one of a labor market that is drawing near to full employment. While nominal wage growth is still slightly below historical norms, it is still outpacing inflation by a decent margin. Moreover, we have seen meaningful improvements in the participation rate over the past six months which suggests that more sidelined workers are being brought back into the labor pool. This report is neither strong enough nor weak enough to materially impact the Fed's rate decision in March, which at this point still looks like a decision to hold."

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation's federally insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance.www.nafcu.org.

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Patty Briotta
Director of Public Relations
703-842-2820
pbriotta@nafcu.org