United States Economy Adds 223,000 Jobs, Unemployment At 3.8 Percent, Lowest Rate In 18 Years

The latest economic news is sunnier than ever, as Business Insider reports that the American economy outpaced expert predictions. The United States economy added 223,000 new positions, wages grew by greater margins than expected, and unemployment shrank to an unheard of 3.8 percent – the lowest unemployment rate the U.S. has seen in the nearly two decades since the turn of the millennium.

Wage growth is also ticking upwards against labor projections, showing a positive increase in hourly earnings of 0.3 percent (against 0.2 percent anticipated) month-over-month alongside the same growth year-over-year of 2.7 percent (versus 2.6 percent anticipated). Given that the projections offered up by employment analysts were already extremely rosy in light of current economic conditions, beating them signifies even greater strength than was called for initially.

Inflation, always a concern whenever a superheated economy continues to gain steam for a prolonged period of time, has remained within the target set by the Federal Reserve. The target of 2 percent annual inflation has been a constraint, a governor against too much growth at once, and has been respected as the current rate of inflation falls just beneath this bar, according to the New York Post.

The wildcard falling into constellation with all of the other elements on the trading table is the recent announcement by President Trump that they will likely be engaging tariffs against NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico on steel and lumber, a move of economic protectionism hailed by his supporters and derided by his political opponents. An unpredictable negotiator with a history of bold, brazen moves, it is impossible to predict the outcome of President Trump’s posture on trade issues – his threatened tariffs with China resulted in the communist superpower agreeing to reduce the massive trade deficit for the United States in a bilateral sense, China agreeing to buy more American exports and to act in better faith on balance, the Times of India reports.

Despite the exceedingly good financial news for Americans, there are some critics of how President Trump preceded the day’s trading with a tweet expressing his curiosity to see the Bureau of Labour Statistics numbers.

Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2018

NBC News reports that critics are claiming that the tweet sends an unfair signal to traders looking to capitalize on good or bad news reflected in the results, though all economic indicators are trending positively and have been since President Trump, according to CNN, signed his signature tax cut package into law prior to Christmas last year.

Despite a nigh-constant barrage of media criticism from establishment sources, President Trump’s administration seems to have a steady hand at the wheel when speaking strictly on economic matters reports BLS.org. Whether or not this stewardship will continue to prove fruitful into the future remains a question, though critics have modest leverage at present to work with when trying to cast the national financial situation in a poor light, according to CNBC.