Joblessness in Mexico Falls to Lowest Since 2008 Newsmax
go to original April 29, 2015

Banco de Mexico Governor Agustin Carstens (Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg)

Joblessness in Mexico last month fell to the lowest in more than six years, bolstering prospects for further gains in domestic consumption following a slowdown in 2014.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent in March after adjusting for seasonal variations, the national statistics institute said this week. That was the lowest since October 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Job gains are contributing to a revival in retail sales after tax increases last year caused spending growth to plunge to half its 2013 pace. Declining unemployment is not yet pressuring the inflation rate, which fell to the lowest in more than eight years in February and remains near the central bank's 3 percent target, according to Bank of America Corp.

"The labor market continues to improve and that means consumption is going to keep doing well," Carlos Capistran, chief Mexico economist at Bank of America, said. "The next question is, ‘Is this important for monetary policy?' It's still not giving you any labor pressures. There's less slack but it's fair to say there's still slack."

The central bank, led by Governor Agustin Carstens, cut its benchmark interest rate to a record-low 3 percent in June to boost economic growth that has missed analyst estimates in eight of the last 11 quarters.

Read the rest at Newsmax

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!