GW Expert Available to Discuss September Jobs Report & Labor Market Trends

263,000 U.S. jobs were added in the month of September and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. One business professor at the George Washington University says today’s report shows that the Fed’s actions are not working.

If you would like more context on this matter, please consider Christopher Kayes, a professor of management and the chair of the Department of Management at the GW School of Business. He is an expert on leadership, resilience, teams, and workplace well-being.

“Today’s job report shows what the fed is doing is just not working. They’re not going to be happy with these numbers. We actually saw unemployment drop to 3.5 percent and we saw higher-than expected job creation,” Kayes says. “So, it’s going to take time for the Fed’s actions to work but what this says is the Fed’s going to continue on in their process of raising interest rates as they anticipated doing.”

When looking at recent trends in the labor market, Kayes says employees who are a part of the ‘Great Resignation’ are the ones right now able to escape what he calls the zombie-like economy.

“Wages are being eaten up by inflation. Productivity is eating up corporate profit. The dropping stock market and dropping asset prices are eating up asset prices. So, the only people that really seem to be escaping these zombies are private sector employees who are jumping jobs,” Kayes says. “It’s those people we think of as the ‘Great Resignation’ – their salaries are increasing at almost double the rate of those who are keeping their jobs, so job hoppers are getting over a 16% raise right now, where those staying in their jobs are only seeing about a 7% raise.”

WATCH: Find more analysis from Prof. Kayes here.

If you would like to speak with Professor Kayes, please contact GW Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].