

City of Union City by holding that “similarly situated” means “similarly situated in all material respects.” On March 21, 2019, sitting en banc and ruling in favor of an employer on summary judgment, the Eleventh Circuit nixed other “similarly situated” standards and instead espoused its new “similarly situated in all material respects” standard. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has cleared up this oft-debated aspect of a plaintiff’s prima facie burden in Lewis v. Hurricane Ian, which caused massive devastation, especially in Florida, “had no discernible effect” on the data, which was collected before the storm made landfall.What does it mean within the context of the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework for a plaintiff to show she was treated less favorably than other “similarly situated” individuals? The U.S.

The unemployment rate, which edged up in August as more workers came off the sidelines to join the labor force, slipped back last month, and the participation rate was barely changed at 62.3 percent as the pool of available workers was about steady. The data showed notable gains in the leisure and hospitality sector and in health care, and a decline in government jobs. US employers continue to complain that they have difficulty filling open positions, and the Fed wants to see signs of an easing in the tight labor market. “And while economic forecasting can be difficult, I’m reasonably confident the chances of that happening are precisely 0 percent,” Furman tweeted. Robert Frick, corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union, called the September data “a Goldilocks jobs report.” He said it was “cool enough to make the Fed happy that the ‘tight’ labor market is loosening, and warm enough to satisfy most Americans looking for work, or looking to switch jobs for higher pay.” Jason Furman, a former White House economist, said only two “surprisingly low” inflation reports before the November 1-2 policy meeting could cause the Fed to pivot its stance. However, these data do not change the near-term course of monetary policy,” Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics said in an analysis.įed officials in recent comments have made it clear that no single data report will change their trajectory since it will take time for inflation to get back down to the two percent goal, which will require more rate hikes. “A moderation in job and wage growth will be welcome developments for Fed officials. The Fed has raised the benchmark lending rate five times this year and said more tightening will be needed to get inflation down, but it acknowledges that the process could cause a painful economic slowdown. The central bankers are watching closely to see if wages continue to accelerate, which would fuel further inflationary pressures. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 5.0 percent, still high but a slowing from the pace seen over the past year. The report showed a 10-cent increase in average hourly earnings in the month to $32.46. Following the rapid turnaround from the worst of the pandemic, “we have to move from historically strong economic recovery to a more steady, stable recovery,” Biden said.īut he stressed, “We need to bring inflation down without giving up all the historic economic progress that working class and middle class people have made.” While the US president cheered the increase in wages caused by the strong labor market, that is of more concern for the Fed. “Our job market continues to show resilience as we navigate through this economic transition we’re in,” he said in a speech at a Volvo plant in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Biden said the gain brings the total jobs created since he took office in January 2021 to 10 million. The unemployment rate slipped two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.5 percent. The economy added 263,000 jobs last month, showing a steady slowdown from the blistering pace in 20, the Labor Department said in the closely-watched report. And economists say another big hike remains likely next month. President Joe Biden, who has seen his approval erode in the face of surging prices, cheered the data as a sign of “historic progress” in the economy, even while he said there is more work to do to help American families.īut the central bank likely will want to see more evidence of slowing price increases, which have soared at the fastest pace in 40 years, before pulling back on its aggressive interest rate increases. WASHINGTON: US job gains slowed slightly in September, offering some good news for the Federal Reserve as it works to cool the economy, but official data released on Friday also showed wages continued to rise, underlining the challenge to tamping down rampant inflation.
