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News & Commentary

March 7, 2019

Ryan Wheeler

Economists expect tomorrow’s jobs report to show an increase of 180,000 jobs and a reduction of the unemployment rate to 3.9%. If the prediction proves true, February would mark the 101st consecutive month of job growth.

 

Business groups expect that a forthcoming Department of Labor rule setting new criteria for overtime pay will expand the pool of workers eligible for time-and-a-half pay. However, the proposed rule will be less generous than the rule put forward by the Obama Labor Department, which sought to extend overtime to workers earning less than $47,000. The proposed rule reaches only workers earning up to $35,000, still an increase over the current threshold of $23,600.

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