Hicks: Jobs Report ‘Good, But Not Great’

Hicks is the director of Ball State's Center for Business and Economic Research.

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Ball State University economist Michael Hicks says the August employment report, showing the addition of 201,000 jobs, reflects an economy "growing slowly, but steadily." He says June and July figures were revised downward, suggesting less summer job creation than previously thought.

Hicks, the director of Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research, says manufacturing job growth "effectively stopped" in August. He adds it’s too early to tell whether that is an anomaly or a sign of ill effects of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

Wage growth, Hicks says, was 2.9 percent over the past year, is outpacing inflation, which he says is expected at this point in an economic recovery. Overall, Hicks says there is nothing in particular in the August jobs report "to indicate either an accelerating or decelerating economy."

The national unemployment rate held steady at 3.9 percent.