WASHINGTON, DC–The Labor Department released its employment numbers for September showing that the US economy added 156,000 positions to the nation's payrolls. This was below most economists' expectations for the month and below the revised figures posted in August.
The numbers have a national significance — they will become fodder in the US presidential election campaign, no doubt, and they will almost surely throw sand in the Fed's interest-rate decision-making machinery.
On a local level, though, the numbers are more promising.
Economic growth regionally continued to outpace the country, with trailing 12-month job growth of 2.6% in Metro DC exceeding the national average of 1.7%. Indeed the US presidential election acted as a catalyst for job growth locally, according to JLL Research Director Scott Homa. He says that:
The presidential election cycle likely acted as a catalyst for legal services hiring in the region, as 1,500 new legal jobs were created in the District of Columbia year-over-year, representing a growth rate of 5.4%. The federal government also continued to backfill positions lost in the 2011-2014 post-sequestration period, and federal payrolls increased by 7,100 across the region over the past two years, with most gains occurring in Suburban Maryland (2.3% growth) and the District of Columbia (2.1% growth).
He also noted that:
· Metro DC created 81,400 jobs year-over year. The regional economy registered its 30th consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Growth remained well above the region's 15-year average of 38,000 new jobs per year.
· Office-occupying sectors continued to claim a significant share of Metro DC job growth. 40% of all regional job growth was focused within office-occupying sectors, led by technology, life sciences and law firms. Federal employment increased by 5,700 jobs year-over-year
Homa weighed in as well on one of CRE's biggest concerns — what the report means for interest rates.
He said that:
The jobs report does not provide any clear and conclusive signal relative to whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. Officials at the Federal Reserve had suggested they intended to raise interest rates before year-end, but concerns are likely to remain as to whether a rate hike would be premature given the fragility of the economy, low rate of inflation and relatively unremarkable figures in terms of overall job creation and wage growth. A sharp reduction in the unemployment rate would have been an important bellwether in suggesting the Fed would move forward with a modest rate increase, but the 0.1% increase in unemployment and continued low rate of labor-force participation may cause officials to reconsider their earlier stance.
WASHINGTON, DC–The Labor Department released its employment numbers for September showing that the US economy added 156,000 positions to the nation's payrolls. This was below most economists' expectations for the month and below the revised figures posted in August.
The numbers have a national significance — they will become fodder in the US presidential election campaign, no doubt, and they will almost surely throw sand in the Fed's interest-rate decision-making machinery.
On a local level, though, the numbers are more promising.
Economic growth regionally continued to outpace the country, with trailing 12-month job growth of 2.6% in Metro DC exceeding the national average of 1.7%. Indeed the US presidential election acted as a catalyst for job growth locally, according to JLL Research Director Scott Homa. He says that:
The presidential election cycle likely acted as a catalyst for legal services hiring in the region, as 1,500 new legal jobs were created in the District of Columbia year-over-year, representing a growth rate of 5.4%. The federal government also continued to backfill positions lost in the 2011-2014 post-sequestration period, and federal payrolls increased by 7,100 across the region over the past two years, with most gains occurring in Suburban Maryland (2.3% growth) and the District of Columbia (2.1% growth).
He also noted that:
· Metro DC created 81,400 jobs year-over year. The regional economy registered its 30th consecutive month of year-over-year gains. Growth remained well above the region's 15-year average of 38,000 new jobs per year.
· Office-occupying sectors continued to claim a significant share of Metro DC job growth. 40% of all regional job growth was focused within office-occupying sectors, led by technology, life sciences and law firms. Federal employment increased by 5,700 jobs year-over-year
Homa weighed in as well on one of CRE's biggest concerns — what the report means for interest rates.
He said that:
The jobs report does not provide any clear and conclusive signal relative to whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. Officials at the Federal Reserve had suggested they intended to raise interest rates before year-end, but concerns are likely to remain as to whether a rate hike would be premature given the fragility of the economy, low rate of inflation and relatively unremarkable figures in terms of overall job creation and wage growth. A sharp reduction in the unemployment rate would have been an important bellwether in suggesting the Fed would move forward with a modest rate increase, but the 0.1% increase in unemployment and continued low rate of labor-force participation may cause officials to reconsider their earlier stance.
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Erika Morphy
Erika Morphy has been writing about commercial real estate at GlobeSt.com for more than ten years, covering the capital markets, the Mid-Atlantic region and national topics. She's a nerd so favorite examples of the former include accounting standards, Basel III and what Congress is brewing.
