Fed's Daly: Focus on Employment-to-Population Ratio, Not Job Numbers

On April 4th, Federal Reserve’s Daly stated that the economy does not need to create as many jobs as before to maintain the same employment-to-population ratio. In this environment, monthly hiring data is no longer the most accurate reflection of labor market health. The unemployment rate may be a better measure. She said, “Ratios and indicators such as the employment-to-population ratio, unemployment rate, quit rate, or hiring rate can reflect changes in the size of the labor force, thus providing a clearer picture of the labor market’s health.”