Is the Labor Market Gaining Strength?
5/8/202612 min
P.M. Edition for May 8. The U.S. economy added 115,00 jobs in April, beating analyst expectations for the second month in a row. WSJ economics reporter Chao Deng explains how this could be a turning point for the labor market–and what that means for the Federal Reserve. Plus, the Virginia Supreme Court threw out Democrats’ efforts at redistricting ahead of the midterm elections. We hear from Journal national political reporter Ken Thomas about how this could affect Democrats’ chances at retaking the House. And we’re exclusively reporting that Intel will supply some chips for Apple devices—a deal that could be huge for the chipmaker’s attempt to turn around its business. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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First 90 secondsAlex Ossola· Host0:00
[upbeat music] April's job numbers blow past expectations, but we may not be out of the low hire, low fire labor market quite yet. Plus, what a decision by the Virginia Supreme Court means for Democrats' hopes of retaking the House in the midterms.
Ken Thomas· Guest0:17
While this is certainly, uh, something that makes, uh, Democrats winning back control of the House much more difficult, I don't think this decision favors Republicans in the big picture.
Alex Ossola· Host0:31
Why is that? We'll get into it. And in a big win for Intel, it will supply some chips for Apple devices, a deal that was pushed by the Trump administration. It's Friday, May 8th. I'm Alex Osula for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that moved the world today. [upbeat music] Let's start the show with some good news. US employers added 115,000 jobs in April, blowing past analyst expectations for the second month in a row. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate stayed at 4.3%. For more on what's behind the numbers, I'm joined now by WSJ economics reporter Chow Deng. Chow, a few months ago, economists were really worried about a hiring slowdown hurting the economy. Now, this is the second really good month in a row of jobs numbers. Can we safely