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July 5, 2024

Economic Update



Steve Scranton

SVP, Chief Investment Officer and Economist

Economic Update-Employment Report

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly Employment Situation report, and the news was a mixed bag. For those advocating for a reduction in interest rates, there was data to support their argument. For those advocating for no change in interest rates, there was also data to support their argument.

The nation added 206,000 jobs in June. This was a slight slowing from the revised 218,000 growth in May. The BLS revised April's data lower by 57,000 and May's data lower by 54,000. The net result was a downward revision of 111,000 for the past two months. The three-month moving average fell to 177,000. Except for a brief dip to 198,000 last November, this was the first time that the three-month moving average moved solidly below the 200,000 level since the end of the pandemic crisis.

Top Four Industries for Jobs Growth

Jobs growth continues to be concentrated in a few industries. The top two industries for jobs growth accounted for 74% of total jobs growth and the top four industries accounted for 95%.

 Industry

Change in Jobs

Health Services

+82,400

Government

+70,000

Construction

+27,000

Other Services

+16,000

 

Bottom Five Industry Sectors For Jobs Growth

There were four industries that lost jobs in June.

Industry

Change in Jobs

Professional & Business Services

-17,000

Retail Trade

-8,500

Manufacturing

-8,000

Private Education

-700

 Establishment Survey

The average worker continues to see pay increases as average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in June and 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. The average worker did not gain any additional income from working extra hours as the average work week remained unchanged at 34.3 hours. The average work week is lower by 0.1 hours compared to a year ago and down 0.7 hours from the 35.0 hours experienced in 2021. For a worker who depends on their paycheck to pay their bills, any reduction in hours hurts.

Household Survey

The Household Survey once again showed less people reporting they found a job compared to the number of new jobs that businesses are reporting in the Establishment Survey. The Household Survey showed the number of people finding a job rose by 116,000. With the labor force growing by 277,000 it resulted in the official unemployment rate rising from 4.0% to 4.1%. With the increase in the labor force, the labor force participation rate rose from 62.5% to 62.6%. The growth in the labor force participation rate was not uniform if examined by level of education.

 Level of Education

June

May

Less than high school

47.0%

46.0%

High school

57.0%

56.8%

Some College

62.7%

63.1%

Bachelor's degree or higher

72.8%

72.8%

 

Based on the responses from the Household Survey, all of the jobs created must have been part-time because the number of people reporting they found part-time work rose while the number reporting finding full-time work fell.  Of the 286,000 who reported they found part-time work, 102,000 reported they could only find part-time work. That would imply that the other 184,000 only wanted part-time work. The encouraging news is that the number of people working multiple jobs did not rise in June as the total fell by 28,000. Compared to last June there are still 295,000 more people working multiple jobs.

For those people who were already unemployed, the news was mixed. The average duration of unemployment fell from 21.1 weeks in May to 20.7 in June but, the percent of people who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more rose from 20.7% in May to 22.2% in June. 

 

Conclusions

  • The pace of jobs growth is clearly slowing. For those wanting a reduction in interest rates, they will probably point to this data as justification for cutting rates. 
    • I would simply observe that one month of the three-month moving average below 200,000 does not establish a clear trend yet.
    • The Federal Reserve has been consistently delivering a similar message regarding inflation as a reason for continuing to hold rates higher for longer.
  • For those advocating no change in interest rates, the continued strength of wage growth is what they will probably point to.
    • Average hourly earnings remain stubbornly around the 4% level when the Federal Reserve wants to see 3% or lower.
  • Jobs growth continues to remain concentrated in a few industries as illustrated above. To give a longer-term perspective, over the past year Health Services, Government, and Leisure & Hospitality jobs have accounted for 76% of the 2,611,000 total jobs created.
    • Beneath the surface there are job losses occurring in some industries.
    • This continues to highlight that, like overall economic growth, jobs growth is not homogenous.

Patrick Dawson

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Fixed Income Update



Brian Brill

Vice President
Senior Portfolio Manager

Interest rates took a wild ride as vaccine euphoria versus winter is coming might be the best title to describe this week for fixed income investors.

The week started off with positive news but in the world of bonds, good news is generally bad for bond prices as yields rise. For the first three hours on Monday morning, financial markets moved in a single straight line frenzy with long-term yields reaching their highest levels since March. The catalyst for this move was an announcement from Pfizer/BioNTech that they have  produced a vaccine that is showing promising results in preliminary testing, preventing greater than 90% of COVID-19 infections. This was great news and markets got wrapped up in the possibility of getting our society and economy back to normal. But euphoria is giving way to reality as these benefits may be more of a 2021 story. As the week ends, focus has pivoted from optimism over COVID-19 vaccine efficacy to increased infection rates. The national infection rate has trended toward 1.5%, the largest daily increase since late July, New York City has threatened to shut down in-person learning at public schools, and Chicago issued a stay-at-home advisory effective Monday.

Acknowledging the rising cases and the diminished chances for a fiscal package this year, Federal Reserve officials have turned dovish. Just last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said “We think that this very large effective (asset purchase) program is delivering about the right amount of accommodation and support for the markets,” but this week he indicated that the Fed may need to do more to combat near-term downside risks to the economy. Powell said this week, “We do see the economy continuing on a solid path of recovery, but the main risk we see to that is clearly the further spread of the disease here in the United States. A COVID-19 vaccine is certainly good and welcome news for the medium term. The next few months could be challenging. It's just too soon to assess with any confidence the implications of the news for the path of the economy, especially in the near term. The path forward is going to be challenging for a number of reasons, my sense is that we will need to do more, and that Congress may need to do more as well on fiscal policy."

The Fed has few options for further accommodation as rates are floored at the lower band and forward guidance indicates rates will remain at current levels through 2023. This leaves the possibility that they may revise Operation Twist which means buying more long-term securities.

Time will tell if this policy option becomes more of a possibility and market participants will be focused on the December Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting for guidance.

For the week, Treasury yields traded in a much wider range but still increased between 3 and 8 basis points. 


Company Spotlight

APPLE INC

Apple is in impressive financial health. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by the firm.

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO

American Express is in good financial health, evidenced by strong capital levels and exceptional credit quality. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by AXP.

BOEING CO/THE

Boeing's decision to shutter MAX production and the opacity surrounding a return-to-service timeline have put pressure on the firm’s credit metrics. We remain comfortable with our holdings of Boeing at this time.

COLGATE-PALMOLIVE CO

Colgate filed its 10-Q this week. We don’t anticipate the firm will have any problems meeting it’s near term debt obligations and remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by the firm.

COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP

Costco submitted its financial statements this week. They reflect a very strong company with little risk of default. We continue to remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by Costco.

EBAY INC

EBay’s financial statements reflect a company in healthy financial shape. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by the firm.

GENERAL ELECTRIC CO

GE's financial statements show a company that is navigating a transitionary period. We continue our wait-and-see approach to GE's massive corporate transformation.

CORNING INC

Corning released its 10-Q this week. The firm continues to maintain a strong balance sheet and consistent, healthy free cash flow. We remain comfortable with Corning's ability to meet debt obligations.

ALPHABET INC-CL C

Alphabet's financial statements, filed this week, show an impressively solid balance sheet and substantial free cash flow generation. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by the firm.

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC

Honeywell is an industry leader in both products and financial strength, we are comfortable purchasing debt issued by the firm.

INTL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP

IBM filed financial statements this week. The firm continues to generate adequate cash from operations to cover debt obligations. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by IBM.

INTEL CORP

Intel's financial statements show a company with manageable debt levels and meaningful cash flows. We believe Intel has no foreseeable problem meeting its future debt obligations.

3M CO

3M filed its 10-Q this week. The firm continues to report a strong balance sheet, ample liquidity and substantial free cash flow. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by the firm.

MICROSOFT CORP

Microsoft's financial statements continue to show consistently significant revenue generation and a strong balance sheet. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by the firm.

NIKE INC -CL B

With strong financial statements and the ability to allocate capital as management sees fit, Nike is in impressive financial health. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by Nike.

ORACLE CORP

Oracle submitted financial statements this week. The firm continues generate remarkably consistent free cash flow, sufficient enough to fund its generous capital return program and service its debt obligations. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by Oracle.

PROCTER & GAMBLE CO/THE

P&G reported a very nice quarter and the financial statements continue to reflect the benefits of scale. We remain comfortable with the firm's ability to service its debt obligations.

TJX COMPANIES INC

TJX's financial statements, filed this week, reflect a company in sound financial health. We remain comfortable purchasing debt issued by TJX.

 

November 13, 2020
Index
Current
Last Week
Wk Chg
Last Year
Yr Chg
Tax-exempt MMF
.05%
.05%
.00%
1.01%
-.96%
Taxable MMF
.07%
.07%
.00%
1.74%
-1.67%
2-Year Treasury
.18%
.15%
.03%
1.59%
-1.41%
5-Year Treasury
.41%
.36%
.04%
1.63%
-1.22%
10-Year Treasury
.90%
.82%
.08%
1.82%
-.92%
30-Year Treasury
1.65%
1.60%
.05%
2.30%
-.65%
5-Year Exp. Inflation
1.65%
1.55%
.09%
1.54%
.11%
2-Year Corporate*
.41%
.38%
.03%
1.90%
-1.49%
5-Year Corporate*
.89%
.85%
.04%
2.17%
-1.28%
10-Year Corporate*
1.71%
1.67%
.04%
2.70%
-.98%
30-Year Corporate*
2.73%
2.74%
.00%
3.38%
-.65%
2-Year Municipal**
.31%
.28%
.04%
1.17%
-.86%
5-Year Municipal**
.43%
.41%
.02%
1.31%
-.88%
10-Year Municipal**
.99%
.97%
.02%
1.76%
-.77%
30-Year Municipal**
1.78%
1.74%
.04%
2.41%
-.63%
10-Year German Govt Bond
-.55%
-.62%
.07%
-.36%
-.19%
10-Year U.K. Govt Bond
.34%
.27%
.06%
.71%
-.37%
10-Year Japanese Govt Bond
.02%
.01%
.01%
-.09%
.10%
10-Year Spanish Govt Bond
.11%
.09%
.01%
.45%
-.34%
10-Year Italian Govt Bond
.66%
.64%
.02%
1.32%
-.66%
Fed Funds
.25%
.25%
.00%
1.75%
-1.50%
Prime Rate
3.25%
3.25%
.00%
4.75%
-1.50%
Dollar***
$92.75
$92.23
$0.52
$98.16
-$5.41
CRB
$151.86
$147.70
$4.16
$180.09
-$28.23
Gold
$1,886.10
$1,951.70
-$65.60
$1,473.40
$412.70
Crude Oil
$40.15
$37.14
$3.01
$56.77
-$16.62
Unleaded Gasoline****
$1.13
$1.08
$0.04
$1.49
-$0.37
Note:  Municipal yields are as of the previous business day.
* Composite A
** General Obligation AA+
*** Int'l value of the U.S. dollar (Avg. exchange rate between the dollar and 6 major world 
    currencies).
**** Futures price per gallon