Black women are gaining ground in the labor market but still face unique barriers

Black women have led propelled the decrease in the overall Black unemployment rate. From December 2022 (5.5%) to January 2023 (4.7%), there has been a (-0.8%) decrease in the unemployment rate among Black women compared to Black men from December 2022 (5.3%) to January 2023 (5.1%) with only a (-0.2%) decrease in their overall unemployment rate. However, both the rate of unemployment for all Black people and for women specifically are at their lowest levels in more than a year. All other ethnicities unemployment rates have increased during the time period of December 2022-January 2023 yet, Black workers still have the highest unemployment rate when compared with other ethnicities including White, Asian, and Hispanic/Latino workers. Two issues that have contributed to the imbalance the unemployment rate in Black people in the labor force and that might explain why it's much higher compared to other ethnicities might be discrimination in the hiring process and the increased likelihood of layoffs Black workers experience. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/03/black-women-are-gaining-ground-in-the-labor-market-but-still-face-unique-barriers.html

Economy adds 517k jobs after huge Tech layoffs

 Consensus forecasts expected were surprised with the 517,000 jobs added to the labor market when no more than 200,000 additional jobs were expected. Analysts had predicted a job creation slowdown after big Tech firms layoffs. Health care, leisure and hospitality sectors are the major contributors to these job additions. Unemployment fell to 3.4%, lowest level in 54 years, and wages rose 0.3% in January. Despite interest rates hike, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell states that inflation could slow down and the labor market remain healthy. To back Powell's positivity, wage growth in the service sector is decelerating, showing that other components of inflation are cooling down. 

The labor market as a whole is coming back to balance even though it is tight right now. Most people being let go find jobs within a month, meaning that many of them don't even show up on the government's monthly labor data as they have severance packages. 

So, how will this "balance" in the labor market be taken by economists? What other components of the economy will help the Fed fight against inflation? 

Source: https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2023-02-03/economy-adds-517-000-jobs-in-january-more-than-double-estimates

Potential drop in inflation due to IMF growth in the global economy

  The International Money Fund is projected to have an uplifting growth this year, but some determining factors will be Russia's invasion on Ukraine and higher interest rates. The global economy is projected to grow 2.9% this year based on latest economic update. However, expansion could still cause that number to fall by 3.4%. Due to the United States expected domestic factors, the global economy is predicted to do better-than-expected. 

    However though, there are still a lot of deteriorating factors that could come into play easily in these next few months. For example, Russia's invasion on Ukraine could raise the prices of energy and good causing markets inflation to be worse than expected. Also, China's covid reopening could stall, and inflation could overall just remain high. 

America’s government is spending lavishly to revive manufacturing

 Democrats have been taking various measures to increase manufacturing in the united states. 

The CHIPs act passed in July is a 39 billion dollar plan to increase production of semiconductors and more importantly to invest in research and development. The congress also approved 1.2 trillion dollars to spend on infrastructure. The subsidies are mainly for two sectors, clean energy and semiconductors. The main idea is to increase sustainability and reduce dependency on China. 

Along with the federal government, states are also providing incentives to carmakers. Recently Georgia over 3 billion to two companies building electric vehicle factories. 

Since Biden assumed office manufacturers have 290 billion in investment. Carmakers announced 68 billion worth of projects in 2021 and 2022, the industries biggest boom in decades.