Employers have added 3.5 million jobs so far this year, among the fastest pace in 28 years and a remarkable feat considering the number of headwinds powerful enough to knock hiring off course — from boiling inflation to the fastest Federal Reserve rate hikes in four decades.
But that historically strong job market might not stay booming for much longer. Employers are predicted to add just 97,000 jobs each month over the next year, an 80% slowdown from the prior 12-month average of 487,000, according to Bankrate’s Third-Quarter Economic Indicator poll. That’s down considerably from forecasts of 193,000 in the prior quarter’s poll and 281,000 in the first quarter survey.
Economists are also bracing for a 0.7 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, with joblessness expected to rise to 4.4% in a year from its current 3.7% level, participants noted. That’s in line with what officials on the Fed are projecting as well, according to fresh guidance on the economy released in September.
