By Christopher Rugaber
Associated Press (AP), Dec 8, 2023
U.S. employers added a healthy 199,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell, fresh signs that the economy could achieve an elusive “soft landing,” in which inflation would return to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target without causing a steep recession. Friday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the unemployment rate dropped from 3.9% to 3.7%, not far above a five-decade low of 3.4% in April. ...
Aaron Seyedian, owner of a small cleaning company based in Takoma Park, Maryland, says his business is still growing and hiring. He has enough demand to add five workers to his 30-person staff.
Seyedian’s company, “Well-Paid Maids,” has just raised its starting pay from $23 to $24 an hour. He said he hasn’t had any trouble finding people to hire. ...