Retail prices for garments in the US decreased by 0.2 per cent month-over-month in September 2022.

After struggling to keep up with consumer demand following the release of stimulus and with the shipping crisis, apparel import volumes have been strong in recent months. Year-over-year retail apparel prices were six per cent higher.

The labour market continues to add jobs and to post wage increases near five per cent. However, both the pace of hiring and wage gains were slower last month. The US economy was estimated to have added 261,000 jobs last month. This was the lowest addition since December 2020, but job growth has nonetheless remained resilient to interest rate increases. The twelve-month average for job growth is currently 442,000.

The unemployment rate moved higher, from 3.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent month-over-month. This increase occurred despite a slight decrease in the size of the labour force and was a result of a decrease in the number of employed workers.Wage growth slowed to the lowest level in about a year (4.7 per cent) in October. Despite the slowdown, the latest value easily exceeds growth rates experienced after the financial crisis, which topped out near 3.5 per cent in the decade that followed the last recession.