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Roads ‘could freeze’ as National Highways workers go on strike
Union members working on England’s roads have announced a 12-day strike over Christmas and New Year. PA media report.
Members of the Public and Commercial Service Union (PCS) on National Highways, which plan, design, construct, operate and maintain the country’s roads, will participate in a series of strikes from December 16 to January 7.
The union said the action risks freezing roads.
The action will coincide with a planned strike by RMT members on the railways.
PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka said:
“We are aware that the move by our members may inconvenience tourists who plan to visit their relatives during the festive period, but our members have been put in this situation by a government that will not listen to its own employees.
“With a serious cost-of-living crisis, they deserve to be properly paid for the important work they do, keeping our roads safe and free.
“The government is in the driving seat here – it’s in a position to stop this strike by putting money on the table.”
PCS The strike dates will be announced in other departments, including the Home Office, in the next few weeks.
Major events
The GMB union says Monday’s strike by G4S cash workers has been called off after the company offered 11th hour pay.
GMB National Officer Eamonn O’Hearn said:
“G4S cash staff are low-paid workers who do dangerous work, transferring the cash so many of us rely on every day.
“They deserve a decent salary in this cost of living crisis. They will now decide whether this offer is sufficient or not.
Concluding summary
Time to wrap up, here are the top stories so far:
European Union countries have tentatively agreed to a $60 price cap on Russian offshore oil
UK National Highways workers are planning to go on strike
Heathrow passengers face ‘Christmas getaway misery’ as ground handlers strike over pay…
…but cash workers at G4S have postponed a strike planned for Monday.
With the dollar strengthening, the pound fell back to $1.22, off last night’s five-month high of $1.23.
Full story: US to add 263,000 jobs in November as unemployment rate remains at 3.7%.
Dominique will be
The US added 263,000 jobs in November, the Labor Department announced Friday, another strong month of job growth. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, near a 50-year low.
Employers added 284,000 new positions in October and 269,000 in September, and the latest figures show that hiring has remained resilient despite rising interest rates and a series of layoff announcements at technology and real estate companies.
The job market remained strong even as the Federal Reserve imposed its largest series of rate hikes in decades in its fight to tame inflation. This week, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell suggested that continued strength in the job market — and rising wages — are likely to lead to more rate hikes in the coming months.
The US was expected to add 200,000 jobs in November. The latest jobs numbers – the last before the Fed meets later this month to decide its next move – will strengthen the central bank’s resolve to raise rates.
More UK strike news: Cash workers at security giant G4S have postponed plans to strike on Monday, which could lead to cash shortages in banks and shops across the economy.
Strong November payrolls and above-trend wage growth confirm the Fed has ‘more ground to cover’, Nathaniel CaseyInvestment Strategist at Wealth Manager Evelyn Partners:
Given today’s payrolls figures, the Fed will need to see more evidence of labor market softening before changing its monetary stance. For instance, NFPs are still running well above the post-World War II monthly average of 123k. In a speech by Jay Powell at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday, he indicated that the US central bank will slow its pace of rate hikes next month but noted that the Fed still has “more ground to cover” and that interest rates will remain elevated for some time. .
The latest October Job Openings (JOLTS) survey showed temporary signs of softening in the labor market, with job openings falling slightly to 10.3m compared to 10.7m in September – but still above the pre-pandemic level of 7.4m in December 2019. Although this suggests that monetary tightening is starting to affect labor demand, it is not enough for the Fed to ease. At current levels there are 1.7 job openings for every 1 unemployed worker, and the job opening gap is 4m, both of which suggest the labor market is tighter than the Fed would like.
A hike in the wage growth rate would be relevant to the Fed (and markets) with November’s annual average earnings at 5.1%, up from October’s reading of 4.7% but below the March 2022 peak of 5.6%. However, these levels are still too high to be consistent with 2% inflation over time.
Good morning everyone! The good news was that 263,000 jobs were created in November versus the expected 200,000. The unemployment rate remains unchanged at 3.7%. The bad news is the labor market is not moderating its response to higher interest rates. Keeps pressure on the FED to keep hiking rates.
— Genevieve Roach-Decter, CFA (@GRDecter) December 2, 2022
Stocks opened lower on Wall Street, following a stronger-than-expected jobs report.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 239 points, or 0.7%, at 34,159.89.
Charles HepworthAt Investment Director GAM investmentssays:
“US November payrolls rose more than expected, showing 263k additions versus expectations of 200k while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7%. Therefore, markets should see this as evidence of a continued strong labor market that remains largely unaffected by higher rates. This could put more pressure on the Fed to maintain a hawkish stance on rate policy. A fall in equities, a strengthening dollar and a rise in Treasury yields would be the normal market reaction, and at the moment that is playing out in script.
Although no doubt by the end of the trading day, some may find reason to change the description in the report.
Either way, Fed Chair Powell’s more dovish statement, which was received by markets on Wednesday, may not actually be seen as dovish — wage growth and new job creation point to a super-hot job market and one on which the Fed may be cracking down. wants to Always with high rate moves.”
The US Here’s a neat breakdown of the jobs report:
🇺🇸 US job data:
🔹 NFP: 263K
🔹 Govt Jobs +42,000 VS October +36,000 (previously +28,000)
🔹 Goods-manufacturing jobs +37,000
🔹 Construction +20,000
🔹 Private Service – Providing Jobs +184,000
🔹 Retail -29,900
🔹 Average hourly earnings +0.6 pct (cons +0.3 pct)
👇 Market reaction pic.twitter.com/p1SHfIls86
— PiQ (@PriapusIQ) December 2, 2022
Daniel AntonucciAt Chief Economist and Macro Strategist Panchak Private BankPredicts that despite such strong wage growth last month, the Fed may slow its interest rate hikes.
Here it is Antonuccini Take today’s job report:
The US labor market is sluggish but demand for jobs is strong
The US economy added more jobs than expected in November, a sign that demand for new workers remains relatively resilient despite pressure from policymakers to slow economic growth and curb inflation. However, there is much more going on below the surface and we suspect that these underlying changes will allow the Federal Reserve to slow the pace of rate hikes later this month.
Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that “the time to moderate the pace of rate hikes may come at the December meeting”, a clear signal that policymakers are ready to ease the accelerator.
Some of his colleagues later reminded the markets that the end of the rate hiking cycle was not imminent, possibly to avoid any unwanted easing in financial conditions.
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