As WPI has reported many times over the past two years, conventional economic data is difficult to decipher because the impact of COVID and its aftermath were anything but conventional. It was concurrently an increase in consumer spending power and demand, while a slow-down, to shut down in economic activity. That lead to all kinds of distortions, many may still be on-going.  Nonfarm payrolls increased 339,000 in May, easily beating the consensus expected 195,000 jobs. However, on the other hand, civilian employment, an alternative measure of job growth that includes small business start-ups, declined 310,000 in May. Not only have the two measures diverged, but the gap is at its widest since the COVID pandemic. What does this mean?...

TAGS – North America, Macroeconomics