US Creates 253,000 Jobs; Black Unemployment Reaches Historic Low Level

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy added 253,000 jobs while news of bank failures and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates continued to circulate. In a historic low, African-American unemployment reached 4.7%, the lowest ever recorded, former Obama administration economic adviser Jason Furman reported. The unemployment rate also remained steady at 3.4%, with 5.7 million people unemployed, while the number of people who lost or completed temporary jobs decreased by 307,000. The numbers surpassed economists’ expectations and come despite recent bank failures. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s announcement of a tenth consecutive interest rate increase, however, received criticism from some Democratic Senators, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who warned it could push the economy into a recession. Senator Sherrod Brown suggested that corporate greed drove inflation but was not being addressed by Mr Powell, adding that corporations raised prices well beyond their costs. This news coincides with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s letter to congressional leaders warning that the Treasury Department could soon exhaust its options to continue payments on the nation’s debt obligations. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are set to discuss negotiations on the nation’s debt limit to prevent default.