Since Nixon’s administration, the jobless rate has never been this low for this extended a time.
The history books get rewritten by this job economy.
The most recent superlative: For the past two full years, the unemployment rate has safely remained below 4%. Richard Nixon was president the previous time the unemployment rate was this low for such a prolonged period of time.
Joe Brusuelas, chief economist and principal at RSM US, told CNN that “the fact that the unemployment rate has been below 4% for 24 months straight for the first time since 1967 is truly remarkable.” “And as I read this report, I can’t stop saying, ‘This is remarkable.'” Here, “remarkable” is the key word.
Over a year ago, it was almost a given that the labor market would be affected by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate-hiking campaign, and might even be in shock. However, after eleven increases and four pauses, the US labor market is experiencing one of its longest expansions this century.
According to federal data, the unemployment rate fell below 4% for 27 consecutive months, from November 1967, during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, through January 1970.
The unemployment rate increased during COVID-19 and peaked in April 2020 at 14.8% before swiftly declining.
When interest rates increased by the Federal Reserve in an effort to combat inflation, many experts predicted that the unemployment rate would surpass 4%. The Federal Reserve predicted in March of last year that in 2023, the unemployment rate would be 4.5%.