U.S. Domestic Economic Items
The April 2026 labor report came in better than expected. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated that employers added 115,000 jobs in April. That greatly surpasses economists’ forecasts of 55,000.
The unemployment rate was steady at 4.3%, but the U-6 rate (which includes people working part-time for economic reasons) inched up to 8.2% from 8.0% last month. The historical average is 10%, and this is just slightly above that level.
Job creation was fairly balanced and broad-based this month, but modest in most sectors. Layoffs are measured and isolated in most sectors. What we hear anecdotally is that firms are still not going overboard on hiring; they are “not firing but also not hiring”.
Massive Drop in Global Oil Reserves
The oil crisis is getting very serious, and many are now seriously considering the possibility of a deep global recession. There is really no reason for these reserves to be at eight-year lows. It was only a few months ago that oil analysts were suggesting the world was on the brink of a global oil glut as production surged while demand fell.
Demand is now even lower than it was, as people react to the skyrocketing price of fuel. Why the shortage?
Oil producers are not set up to store oil for an indefinite period. Anything they produce now is essentially stuck right where it is. Storage facilities are full.
If there is no place for this oil to go, it just sits there, and there is no incentive to produce more. A severe decline in production will take months to correct as facilities get shuttered.
Read this week’s Brief for more market insights and how it may be impacting your supply chain.
