WEBVTT - 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>As we welcome now are Bloomberg TV and radio audiences

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<v Speaker 2>to parse this report on. Please to say, we welcome

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<v Speaker 2>Acting Labor Secretary Julie Sue. And let's just go through

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<v Speaker 2>some of the numbers here. I know you're well aware

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<v Speaker 2>of what happened at age thirty, But the unemployment rate

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<v Speaker 2>it actually edged down to four point two percent. That

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<v Speaker 2>was its first decline in five months. Payrulls only rose

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<v Speaker 2>by one hundred and forty two thousand jobs. That leaves

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<v Speaker 2>the three month average at the lowest since mid twenty twenty.

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<v Speaker 2>So job's growth, and it is growth, it's weakening. Is

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<v Speaker 2>that a concern for the administration two months away from

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<v Speaker 2>the election?

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, it's good to be here with you. I would

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<v Speaker 1>say that this is another job report that indicates that

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<v Speaker 1>we are continuing to see stable growth. It's jobs numbers

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<v Speaker 1>are still up, the unemployment rate take down slightly, as

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<v Speaker 1>you've already mentioned, labor force participation remains steady, earnings are up.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, this is a continued sort of the steady

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<v Speaker 1>transition to an economy in which we're continuing to see

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<v Speaker 1>people come into labor market and find jobs, and you

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<v Speaker 1>know it's a transition to more stability.

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<v Speaker 2>And I know that you're not going to opine on

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<v Speaker 2>what the FED should do from here, but of course

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<v Speaker 2>the concern is out there that we could see this

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<v Speaker 2>weakening turn into a real deterioration if we don't see

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<v Speaker 2>the FED lower interest rates from here, the current policy rate.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you think that that's out of step with the

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<v Speaker 2>economic reality in the labor market?

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<v Speaker 1>No, I mean, and you're right, we don't comment on

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<v Speaker 1>what the Fed will do. But again, I think overall,

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<v Speaker 1>this is another month of many months in which I've

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<v Speaker 1>come here and we've talked about how we continue to

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<v Speaker 1>see job growth. Right, the numbers are still up. We're

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<v Speaker 1>continue to see growth in various industries. We see construction, healthcare, leisure,

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<v Speaker 1>and hospitality.

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<v Speaker 2>Right.

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<v Speaker 1>These are all signs of an economy reaching a normal, steady,

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<v Speaker 1>stable state. And we want to continue to create the

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<v Speaker 1>investments that are leading to this kind of job creation.

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<v Speaker 1>And the President will be traveling to Michigan later today

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<v Speaker 1>to announce an executive order that is ensuring that we're

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<v Speaker 1>not just counting the number of jobs, we're also making

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<v Speaker 1>sure that these jobs are good jobs where families can

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<v Speaker 1>get ahead, where people can make a steady income, where

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<v Speaker 1>they can retire with dignity. And so these are all

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<v Speaker 1>part of the economy that the President promised when he

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<v Speaker 1>came to office, and the economy that these numbers reflect well.

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<v Speaker 2>Building on that, Julie, let's take a look at the

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<v Speaker 2>specifics at the sector level. Because you take a look

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<v Speaker 2>at the manufacturing industry, it lost twenty four thousand jobs.

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<v Speaker 2>The estimate had been for a reduction of two thousand jobs,

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<v Speaker 2>and actually the last three or four reports, I believe

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<v Speaker 2>that sector has shed jobs. So what's the current view

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<v Speaker 2>on why employment in manufacturing has been weakening?

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<v Speaker 1>So I would say cumulatively, again, the number of manufacturing

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<v Speaker 1>jobs created since the Bidenhairs administration began is over seven

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<v Speaker 1>hundred thousand jobs. This is also part of the promise

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<v Speaker 1>that we will make things in America again, from semiconductors

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<v Speaker 1>to electric vehicle batteries. The idea is that American workers

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<v Speaker 1>are the best in the world and they can and

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<v Speaker 1>should be making things. The investments that are going into

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<v Speaker 1>communities are also using American made steel by American union

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<v Speaker 1>workers and raw materials mined by American union workers. And

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<v Speaker 1>so you know, the the the the job growth that

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<v Speaker 1>we have seen, which again was not promised. Most people

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<v Speaker 1>predicted that it would not happen the way that it has.

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<v Speaker 1>UH is not happening by accent. It's happening because of

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<v Speaker 1>real investments and a commitment to job growth. So when

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<v Speaker 1>you look at the overall trends, manufacturing has gone up

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<v Speaker 1>since the President came to office, A construction had UH

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<v Speaker 1>significant growth over this last month. And that is also

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<v Speaker 1>no accident.

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<v Speaker 2>And I also want to get your perspective, of course,

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<v Speaker 2>on some snaff foos if you want to call them,

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<v Speaker 2>that that have happened at the Bureau of Labor Statistics

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<v Speaker 2>when it comes to data releases, because there have been

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of questions about fair access and distribution of

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<v Speaker 2>economic data, fallowing of course the February super users incident.

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<v Speaker 2>We had the early release of inflation data in May,

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<v Speaker 2>and then last month there was that delay to the

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<v Speaker 2>payroll revisions figures last month. What steps is the BLS

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<v Speaker 2>explicitly taking to address those missteps?

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<v Speaker 1>So the BLS has addressed those head on. We obviously

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<v Speaker 1>believe in transparent and timely release of data to everybody.

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<v Speaker 1>That is why I come on that is why we

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<v Speaker 1>release the data each month the way that we do,

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<v Speaker 1>and so the BLS has attacked those issues head on

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<v Speaker 1>to ensure that they do not happen again. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that some of the information came out in

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<v Speaker 1>you know, not in the way that we exactly would

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<v Speaker 1>have liked in terms of their timing of release, certainly though,

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't take away from the fact that this data remains

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<v Speaker 1>the gold standard for how we judge the health of

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<v Speaker 1>our economy, how we look at you know, job growth,

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<v Speaker 1>the unemployment rate, and and and changes to industries when

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<v Speaker 1>it comes to the labor market.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, Secretary, I'd love to get a little bit more

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<v Speaker 2>detail on what that looks like that head on addressing

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, are you considering going back to lock ups?

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<v Speaker 2>Are you potentially firing people here or hiring more? What

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<v Speaker 2>does that look like?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, we've definitely put in place, you know, to

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<v Speaker 1>the extent that some of them were technical issues, right

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<v Speaker 1>addressing those issues again, we are absolutely committed to timely

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<v Speaker 1>and uniform release of data. You know, each of these

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<v Speaker 1>incidents were really you know, different, but we are taking

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<v Speaker 1>a systematic look at how to make sure that they

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<v Speaker 1>don't happen in.

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<v Speaker 2>The future, and while I still have you, I am

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<v Speaker 2>I asked about higher specifically because I spoke to former

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<v Speaker 2>Fed economists Claudia Sam the day after that payroll revision

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<v Speaker 2>slay and see me at the point that the BLS

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<v Speaker 2>is underfunded, and of course our reporting and other news

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<v Speaker 2>agencies have reported something similar. So I'll put that question

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<v Speaker 2>to you, does the BLS need a bigger budget?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, you know, certainly nobody wants to see all

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<v Speaker 1>parts of the Department of Labor adequately funded for the

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<v Speaker 1>important work that we do than I. But I'll also

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<v Speaker 1>say to that question about the Psalm rule and what

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<v Speaker 1>it means, you know, a lot of that is about

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<v Speaker 1>looking at historical data to judge what is happening now.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think what we've seen is that what's happened

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<v Speaker 1>before isn't necessarily a good gauge for what is going

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<v Speaker 1>on here today. Right the post pandemic economic recovery, the

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<v Speaker 1>historically low levels of unemployment for such a long period

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<v Speaker 1>of time, and the investments that are being made that

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<v Speaker 1>have really shaken up the job market in positive ways,

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<v Speaker 1>and so overall, the many indicators are continuing to show

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<v Speaker 1>that we are the economy is growing and the economy

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<v Speaker 1>is strong, and either way, obviously it's important for us

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<v Speaker 1>to keep on reporting the facts as they come out.

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<v Speaker 2>Secretary, really appreciate you taking the time on what I

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<v Speaker 2>know is a busy morning. Our big thanks, of course,

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<v Speaker 2>Acting Labor Secretary Julie Sue