Do labour market mysteries point to higher-for-longer rates?

It’s US payrolls week and all eyes will be on whether January’s blowout jobs growth number was just a one-off or confirmation that – despite the Fed’s actions – the labour market remains tight.

Labour market conditions matter hugely for how much further central banks across advanced economies have to go to whip inflation. The challenge is in understanding how they're evolving as pandemic-era distortions take their time to fade. Group Chief Economist Neil Shearing discusses with Vicky Redwood, our Senior Economic Adviser, and Chief US Economist Paul Ashworth what’s going in labour markets and what this means for policy, with a special focus on February non-farm payrolls and how the Fed will respond. Click here to read the analysis referenced in this episode.

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Capital Economics, a world leading provider of macroeconomic insight, presents The Weekly Briefing – the show with all you need to know about what's happening in the global economy and markets. From the Fed's next decision to China's slowdown to moves in equities, bonds and FX, each week, our team of economists take apart the big economic and market stories and highlight the issues that investors should be paying more attention to.