US interest rate climb due just in time for Christmas

In the US nonfarm payrolls, a figure released monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing the total number of paid workers has shown an increase of 178,000 workers. This then means that the jobless figure for the US has reached a nine-year low, this is sure to be seen as a positive statistic for Donald Trump as he gets ready to take over the White House.

Rates rise due

This news, which is still not a spectacular improvement, is likely to cause the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee to raise interest rates at their next sitting, due later this month.

This figure does mask the fact that many Americans are still suffering due to falling wages and that many have even given up looking for work. Indeed if we look back to the financial crisis of 2008, we can see that the employment rate is still lower than then. With wage growth also being low and wages actually declining last month, some will wonder why raise the interest rate now?

Trump's economic policies

The committee will look at all the data but it looks like the raising of the job rate is the piece of the economic jigsaw they were looking for and as such will raise the interest rate. If Trump then also follows the policies he laid out in his search for the presidency, then this should be the first of series of rate rises.

His policies on job creation and particularly on increasing spending on infrastructure should provide a huge boost for the US economy. If we also factor in his anti-globalisation stance we should see manufacturing increasing in the US and therefore employing more people.

This led to many working-class and middle-class families voting for Trump. They believed if his policies come to fruition, not only will their jobs be safe but that they will see a faster rise in the wage rate.

Living standards squeeze

However, the idea of an interest rate rise has worried some workers in America, with their low wages and a possible increase in the price of goods, they will see their living standards further squeezed. Indeed there are many workers in the US currently working multiple jobs and having difficulty paying their monthly living costs, with some no longer having days off as they simply can not afford to do so.