FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
December 2, 2022
Washington, D.C.

Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Senior Economist Dawit Kebede, PhD, issued the following statement in response to the Labor Department’s November Employment Situation:     

“The November employment report showed that the labor market is still strong despite rising interest rates and slowed down activity in some sectors of the economy. Employers added 263,000 jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7% compared to October.  

“Average hourly earnings increased at 7.2% annualized rate, faster than the increase in October. This indicates that hiring demand is still stronger than supply. Recent job openings and labor turnover report also showed that there are more job openings available than the number of unemployed people. This level of increase in wages and tight labor market is not good news for the Federal Reserve's effort of fighting inflation.  

“However, Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that the Federal Reserve will not be making aggressive rate increase in December like previous meetings although current inflation is higher than target. It will take some time to see the effect of previous rate increases.” 

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About CUNA:           
Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America’s credit unions, which are owned by 130 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions. For more information about CUNA, visit cuna.org. To find your nearest credit union, visit YourMoneyFurther.com.

CONTACT:          
CUNA Communications        
communications@cuna.coop