INDICATOR: July Private Sector Jobs, Help Wanted OnLine, Manufacturing Activity and June Construction Spending

KEY DATA: ISM (Manufacturing): -2.1 points, Orders: -3.3 points/ ADP Jobs: +219,000/ HWOL: +170,800/ Construction: -1.1%

IN A NUTSHELL:  “The job market continues to be on fire even as manufacturing and construction start settling down into more sustainable levels.”

WHAT IT MEANS:  Friday we get the government’s take on the number of jobs created in July and it looks like that could be a pretty good one. The ADP estimate of July private sector payroll increase came in well above expectations. While this measure does have periodic large misses, lately it has done a pretty good job of signaling whether the report would beat expectations. Driving the large gain was a surge in employment in mid-sized companies. The increases in small and large companies were somewhat disappointing. There also continues to be large numbers of workers being hired in manufacturing as well as a rebound in health care employment.

Regardless of the size of the July job increase, whether payroll gains will remain strong is a bit of a question mark. The Conference Board’s Help Wanted OnLine measure rose solidly in July. However, the number of ads peaked in November 2015, has been generally falling since then. It is down nearly 20 percent from the high and is at the level seen in mid-2012. Firms did ramp up their search for new workers and the increases were pretty much across the board, ranging from healthcare practitioners and management to sales and food preparation. 

Manufacturing has been leading the way in this economy and it should continue to do so. The Institute for Supply Management’s Index did ease in July, but the level is still pretty high. New orders continued to grow but at a little less robust a pace.  Production also expanded at a somewhat more moderate pace and as a result, backlogs built more slowly.  Still, all of those components were at levels that indicate a very solid sector. Indeed, hiring actually picked up, which bodes well for Friday’s employment report.

The one weak report today was construction spending, which fell sharply in June. This was the largest decline in over a year and was driven but cut backs in public and private activity. There was weakness in the residential and nonresidential components.  Manufacturers are starting to expand, another sign of strength in that sector.

MARKETS AND FED POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Friday we get the jobs report and today a statement from the Fed. Today’s reports generally paint a picture of a strong, expanding economy, though one that may be easing back to levels that can be sustained. Continued growth in excess of 4 percent is not likely and actually not desirable.  It would create the likelihood of bubbles forming and recessions tend to follow the bursting of bubbles. But first, inflation would accelerate, though why it hasn’t yet is anyone’s guess. So consider a strong employment a double-edged sword: It would mean we have a great economy but it would also raise the risk of much higher inflation and interest rates. That is what the Fed and the markets have to balance as they look toward the future. 

Joel L. Naroff is the president and founder of Naroff Economic Advisors, a strategic economic consulting firm.