Alternative data sources, tracking hourly employees south of the border, show a slowing of the jobs recovery in recent weeks, as the growth of coronavirus cases accelerates in major cities like Phoenix, Houston and Los Angeles.
Homebase, a scheduling firm that works with many small and medium-sized businesses in the service sector, has released information showing employment may have declined over the past week in some areas, with fewer employees working on June 24 than the average from June 15-19 in most states.
Earlier this month, an economist at the St. Louis Fed identified Homebase as a data set that was more predictive of the surprise May jobs report than many economists. At the time, the data showed continued momentum in the weeks following the survey dates for the May employment report.
