Labor market

US jobs

2026-09-01 14:16:47

US July Job Openings Inch Up to 7.27 Million; Labor Demand Stable

US job openings edged up in July, signaling that labor demand has remained broadly stable in recent months, according to a report from Chinese crypto news outlet BlockBeats citing Jinshi. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday that openings rose to 7.27 million from a downwardly revised 7.18 million in June, coming in below economists' median estimate of 7.31 million. The report shows the US labor market remains in the low-hiring, low-firing pattern that has defined much of the past few years. Employers are cautious about expanding headcount with geopolitical uncertainty and persistent inflation in the background, but they are also reluctant to lay off workers. Job openings increased mainly in manufacturing, state and local government (excluding education), and health care and social assistance. Layoffs fell to their lowest level since January, while the quits rate — the share of workers leaving their jobs voluntarily each month — slipped to 1.9%.

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Nonfarm Payro

2026-08-30 02:54:12

Economists Expect 55,000 August Jobs Gain, Jobless Rate at 4.1%

According to a ChainCatcher report, economists expect the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly jobs report, due Friday, to show August nonfarm payrolls increased by 55,000. That would follow an unexpected decline in July. If the forecast holds, the gain would be roughly in line with the average monthly increase seen this year. The unemployment rate is projected to remain at 4.1%. Analyst Anna Wong commented that Warsh's hawkish speech at Jackson Hole raised the probability of a September rate hike and altered market expectations for how next week's data should be read. She noted that while the August employment report remains the headline release, the anticipated weak outcome may not be as decisive as usual. Warsh, for his part, described the labor market as fundamentally healthy and suggested that slower job growth typically stems from demographics rather than an economic downturn. The August payroll report remains the top data point, though its expected softness could carry less weight than in prior months, according to Wong. Warsh characterized labor market conditions as good, pointing to demographic factors as a common explanation for decelerating job gains instead of recession signals.

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Nonfarm Payro

2026-08-29 11:50:39

Bloomberg's Anna Wong Warns Weak Nonfarm Payrolls Could Hit Fed Policy Path

Bloomberg chief economist Anna Wong said next week's U.S. nonfarm payroll report could come in weak, and there is a real probability it will print negative job growth. Such an outcome, she said, would carry significant consequences for the Federal Reserve's policy path. Wong noted that if the data shows two consecutive negative nonfarm payroll readings, modern Fed history contains no precedent for the central bank raising interest rates in that situation. Her warning, reported via ChainCatcher, centers on a report that she said would be critical for the Fed's next policy moves. A negative print would mark a sharp deterioration in the labor market, and two straight negative numbers would put the Fed in uncharted territory on rate policy. Wong's assessment stops short of recommending a specific response, instead highlighting the unusual constraints facing policymakers. With the report scheduled for release next week, the data will be central to how the Fed's policy path evolves, according to her analysis.

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Federal Reser

2026-08-28 14:06:44

Fed Chair Warsh: Forward Guidance Should Be Limited

On August 28, Federal Reserve Chair Warsh said forward guidance should play only a limited role. He told market participants to focus on real information in the economy and not to base forward-looking policy on outdated or inaccurate data. He also described the labor market as fairly stable. The remarks were reported by BlockBeats. In Warsh’s view, economic reality should take precedence over earlier central bank communication signals. He cautioned against making policy decisions from stale figures. The current employment picture, he said, remains steady. There was no mention of a specific policy path, and the report did not include additional details beyond the points he made. For market participants, the message is to watch current economic data rather than rely on assumptions drawn from past guidance. Warsh’s statement was brief and focused on a data-dependent approach to policy communication.

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US jobs

2026-08-28 14:10:56

US Payrolls Revised Down 79,000 in Preliminary Data, Flagging Labor-Market Cooling

US nonfarm payrolls for the year through March are likely to be revised down by 79,000, or 0.1%, according to preliminary benchmark data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday. The revision means employment growth over the period was softer than initially reported, strengthening signs of a cooling labor market. BlockBeats reports the trend is among the reasons the Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates in 2025 despite persistent inflation. Final benchmark figures will be released early next year.

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Bill Gates

2026-08-28 08:39:06

Bill Gates warns AI could hit white-collar jobs within two years and calls for tougher oversight

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has adopted a much darker tone on artificial intelligence, saying the technology could start disrupting white-collar jobs within two years and both white- and blue-collar work within four. Gates laid out that view in a roughly 6,000-word memo published on August 26 on Gates Notes, then expanded on it in an interview the next day on The Atlantic’s podcast Radio Atlantic with senior editor Hanna Rosin. Gates said he was willing to stake his reputation on the view that "this time is different." He traced that shift to rapid gains in coding by AI models, singling out Anthropic’s Claude as one of the earliest examples. He also said two danger thresholds had already been crossed: cyberattacks and bioterrorism. In his account, current safeguards remain weak, with voluntary reviews lacking both clear standards and any defined remedy when systems fail. On policy, Gates argued that some occupations should remain human-reserved, cited childcare as one example for debate, and backed moving taxation away from labor and toward capital, including taxes on AI systems and robots. He also rejected the argument that tighter AI rules would simply hand an advantage to China, saying the U.S. has yet to present a credible regulatory framework that actually addresses the underlying risks.

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Bill Gates

2026-08-27 00:55:41

Bill Gates says the world still lacks a plan for AI-driven social and economic disruption

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned in a new article that the world still has no plan to deal with the social, political, and economic disruption that artificial intelligence could trigger. He said AI could become either the most powerful equalizing tool humans have created or the most serious source of unfairness, depending on how it is deployed and governed. Gates argued that AI may replace cognitive work across industries faster than past waves of technological change, leaving displaced workers with little time to move into newly created roles. He pointed to pressure already facing white-collar jobs such as sales, customer support, software engineering, and legal assistance, and said AI could also take on tasks including loan assessment, data analysis, and patient triage. As robotics improve and costs fall, he added, blue-collar jobs may come under similar strain, while younger people could enter a labor market with fewer positions. Gates called on policymakers to rethink employment, education, and social safety systems, create national coordinating bodies for AI policy, and build a new international AI governance organization to address cross-border risks.

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Bill Gates

2026-08-26 22:16:03

Bill Gates Revives Robot Tax Proposal and Calls for Human-Reserved Jobs in the AI Era

Bill Gates is again arguing that governments should tax automation more directly as artificial intelligence spreads through the economy. In a new essay, the Microsoft co-founder says the current tax structure favors machines over workers because employers pay payroll taxes on human labor while robots can often be written off as business expenses. His proposed fix includes a tax on AI tokens, the units used by language models to process text and other data, as well as a tax on robots themselves. The essay goes beyond tax policy. Gates also proposes a class of “Human Reserved” jobs that society would deliberately keep in human hands even when AI could technically perform them. He points to childcare and jury service as the clearest cases, while placing education and healthcare in a middle category where people would remain involved while using AI tools. Gates says this protected category could cover roughly 40% of jobs at the outer edge of the idea. He argues that AI-driven labor disruption may unfold much faster than earlier technological shifts, reaching legal work, customer service, medicine, software, and manufacturing within a decade. While recent labor data has not yet shown mass displacement, Gates says he is not waiting for that evidence before pushing for policy action.

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