Finance Monthly. 7 The Mon t h l y Round -Up US ECONOMY SEES JOBS GROWTH IN DECEMBER UK CHANCELLOR SETS OUT PLAN FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has revealed his plan to boost economic growth in the country. In his speech in London on Friday 27th January, Hunt discusses the opportunities in “the growth sectors which will define this century”. He also pledged to build on “the freedoms which Brexit provides”. In December, price rises in the UK slowed for a second month in a row. However, the cost of food such as milk, cheese and eggs kept inflation at a 40year high. Wages have grown at the fastest rate in over 20 years but are still not able to keep up with rising prices. The UK Government borrowing hit a new high in December. Jobs growth in the US was robust in December despite the impact of rising prices. Employers added 223,000 new positions last month, pushing the jobless rate down from 3.6% in November to 3.5%, sparking hopes that the largest economy in the world will avoid a drastic economic downturn. The US Central Bank continues to increase borrowing costs in an attempt to cool the economy and ease the price pressures. As businesses struggle with the effect of higher interest rates and the fears of a decrease in consumer spending, recent news of job cuts at financial institutions and tech firms has drawn attention. However, the monthly report from the US Labor Department revealed that nearly every sector is adding new jobs. Although job losses are on the rise, especially in the tech world, the figures overall remained near historic lows last year, said Andrew Challenger, SVP at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “The overall economy is still creating jobs, though employers appear to be actively planning for a downturn,” he said.
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