Economists Forecast Slower but Steady Job Growth in Early 2023 as Labor Market Cools
• Economists expect solid job growth of 185,000 in January, though below recent months as labor market cools.
• Job growth increasingly normalization to pre-pandemic trends; sectors like tech shedding jobs while others pick up workers.
• Annual BLS revisions could show job growth in 2023 slightly less strong than first reported.
• Fed focused on inflation over slowing job market for now, but unexpected labor weakness could spur rate cuts.
• Wage growth may take years to fully normalize, which Powell suggests is acceptable to Fed.