Roosevelt Rundown

The Year’s Last Jobs Report Is Strong

January 5, 2024

Job growth in 2023 points to a soft landing.

The Roosevelt Rundown features our top stories of the week.


(Photo by Mike Konczal/X, formerly Twitter)
 
 
 

Jobs Report Shows a Steadily Growing Economy

To close out 2023, the economy added 216,000 new jobs in December, exceeding the expectations of economists and finishing off a strong year for the economy.

The year’s steady job growth has continued despite high interest rates implemented by the Federal Reserve in an attempt to combat inflation (that is largely supply-driven).

Although unemployment increased slightly over the course of 2023, it has now remained below 4 percent for nearly two full years—with December’s unemployment rate sitting at 3.7 percent.

In an otherwise stable jobs report, December saw a slight decrease in labor force participation. Read more on the details of this month’s data from the Roosevelt Institute’s director of macroeconomic analysis, Mike Konczal.

 

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What We’re Talking About

 

What We’re Reading

Time for a Victory Lap? – by Roosevelt Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz – The American Prospect

What Do Tangible Reparations for Black Americans Look Like? [podcast] – feat. Roosevelt Senior Fellow William Darity, Jr. – Texas Public Radio

The NRA Has Put Another Disastrous Financial Case in Front of the Supreme Court – by Roosevelt Fellow Todd Phillips – Slate

What Biden Needs to Do in the Next 12 Months to Save the Climate – by Roosevelt Fellow Kate Aronoff – The New Republic

American Democracy Is Cracking. These Ideas Could Help Repair It – Washington Post