WEBVTT - US Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su Talks Jobs Report

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio News.

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<v Speaker 2>Is joining us now is Acting Labor Secretary Julie Sue

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<v Speaker 2>live from Washington. Great to have you with us again.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's start with, of course, the hurricanes and the strikes,

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<v Speaker 2>because there was a beat when it comes to the

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<v Speaker 2>headline number. But how much of that was simply a

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<v Speaker 2>rebound from the jobs that we saw lost and as

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<v Speaker 2>a result of the hurricanes and those strikes.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, absolutely, that's right. You know, last month we said

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<v Speaker 1>that the numbers that came out were largely affected by

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<v Speaker 1>the tragic hurricanes, the fact that there were tens of

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of workers on strike. Now that we are past that,

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<v Speaker 1>this month we saw the numbers rebound again. And we

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<v Speaker 1>often look at averages. So the three month average, even

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<v Speaker 1>including that month of relatively low growth because of you know,

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<v Speaker 1>aberagal factors, is still one hundred and seventy three thousands.

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<v Speaker 1>So the picture of this economy, as we've said over

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<v Speaker 1>and over again, is one of a historic recovery of

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<v Speaker 1>consistent job growth. And as you all remarked just before this,

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<v Speaker 1>the unemployment rate remains really low, not just as an

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<v Speaker 1>absolute number, but in the face of really record high

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<v Speaker 1>levels of labor force participation, and those are all signs

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<v Speaker 1>of an economy that is not just recovered, but has

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<v Speaker 1>been consistently strong and stable and continuing to grow.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, good context there. Of course, we're talking about a

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<v Speaker 2>slate rise in the unemployment rate, but historically still very

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<v Speaker 2>low levels. But talk to us about the revisions. This

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<v Speaker 2>is a puzzle that we were just trying to solve.

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<v Speaker 2>You had a very small revision to last months, the

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<v Speaker 2>last month's number just thirty six thousand jobs revised there

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<v Speaker 2>for October's number that came in at just twelve thousand.

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<v Speaker 2>The narrative there was, of course that that was going

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<v Speaker 2>to be noisy when you think about all the different

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<v Speaker 2>factors weather, strikes, etc. But a small revision, and how

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<v Speaker 2>are you thinking about that?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I always say this, You know, revisions are

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<v Speaker 1>really part of the jobs numbers. We report new data

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<v Speaker 1>when we get it because it's important to be accurate,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's also important to be timely, So we put

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<v Speaker 1>out numbers when we have them, we revise them each month.

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<v Speaker 1>It's also notable that not only were the last two

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<v Speaker 1>months small, they were also upward revisions. So I always

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<v Speaker 1>say the revisions can go up or down. It depends

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<v Speaker 1>on what data we get. And that's also why we

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<v Speaker 1>look at averages. You know, you look at the you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the story of this economy from twenty twenty two, when

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<v Speaker 1>it was hot and recovering and everyone el said it

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<v Speaker 1>was going to crash. It did not. It reached a

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<v Speaker 1>more steady state in twenty twenty three, and we've definitely

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<v Speaker 1>seen that continue in twenty twenty four. And I think

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<v Speaker 1>the takeaway is, you know, this has been an amazingly

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<v Speaker 1>fast recovery. It's also been really broad based because we've

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<v Speaker 1>always said that when you prioritize workers, when you priortize

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<v Speaker 1>vulnerable populations, the economy is stronger. It's not just good

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<v Speaker 1>for those individuals, but also we will be you know,

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<v Speaker 1>handing off the strongest economy in history. And those were

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<v Speaker 1>all not inevitable outcomes.

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<v Speaker 2>And while you could.

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<v Speaker 3>Appreciate the historically low unemployment rate, the fact that it

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<v Speaker 3>has been taking higher and if you round, you're getting

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<v Speaker 3>closer and closer at four point three percent, how concerned

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<v Speaker 3>are you about where the labor market is weakening? And

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<v Speaker 3>how fast am I weakend from there?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean it's still you know, four point one to

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<v Speaker 1>four point three percent since the summer. That is still,

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<v Speaker 1>as we've just said earlier, historically low. It was not

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<v Speaker 1>anticipated to get that low as quickly as it did.

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<v Speaker 1>I think, you know, what this also tells you is

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<v Speaker 1>that economic policies matter, leadership matters, and that is a

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<v Speaker 1>big part of why we've seen the kind of recovery

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<v Speaker 1>that we've had, and what comes next is going to

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<v Speaker 1>depend also in large part on whether there is a

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<v Speaker 1>continued focus on vulnerable populations, on working people. Again, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>this is story of this economy with real wages up

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<v Speaker 1>and wages going up while inflation is falling is also

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<v Speaker 1>not promised, but very much central to the Biden Harris

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<v Speaker 1>vision of what makes an economy good, what makes an

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<v Speaker 1>economy strong, and so you know, I think hard to

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<v Speaker 1>say what's to come, but those things, you know, that

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<v Speaker 1>vision is I think a really important part of how

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<v Speaker 1>we make sure that the economy does well for everybody.

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<v Speaker 3>The other strength in the data was with the weekly

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<v Speaker 3>earnings growth picture, where it registered at about seven tens

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<v Speaker 3>of one percent higher. And even though it's really the

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<v Speaker 3>focus is on jobs here, the wage growth wondering how

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<v Speaker 3>much that signals to you that they're still persistent underlying

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<v Speaker 3>inflation under the hood.

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<v Speaker 1>Here, well, the average wage growth over the year is

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<v Speaker 1>four percent, right, it translated into more concrete numbers, it's

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<v Speaker 1>like four thousand dollars for an individual person working, even

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<v Speaker 1>after taking into account inflation, so you know, more money

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<v Speaker 1>in workers' pockets. I've said that a whole bunch of

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<v Speaker 1>times because that's also really fundamental how we think about

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<v Speaker 1>you know, all of these things are numbers, but at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the day, for working families, for individuals,

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<v Speaker 1>it's about how you feel when you get home at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the day. And that's why our commitment

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<v Speaker 1>to creating not just a large number of jobs over

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen million since this administration came into office, but also

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<v Speaker 1>good quality jobs with workers have a real voice, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>have a real ability to make a good living, to

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<v Speaker 1>be able to retire to the end of a career with security,

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<v Speaker 1>have all been really fundamental too, And so I think

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<v Speaker 1>when you put up wages against inflation, you know, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a consistent story too that we shouldn't have to choose.

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<v Speaker 1>Workers shouldn't have to choose right between having a good

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<v Speaker 1>job where they can afford things and our ability to

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<v Speaker 1>tackle inflationary pressures. The trend in this economy has also

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<v Speaker 1>been up on wages and down on inflation.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, Secretary, we really appreciate you braving the cold

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<v Speaker 2>for us. Stay warm out there, that is, Acting Labor

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<v Speaker 2>Secretary Julie Sue