Despite a Strong Economy U.S. Shifts to the Right – Trump Returns to White House

In completely surprising news and despite a strong American economy and labor market, the country has chosen Donald Trump to return to the White House in demonstrable shifts to the right seen across the entirety of the voting populous.

US Jobs Report – Short-Term Impacts Hit Hard, Economy Remains Strong

In October, U.S. employers added just 12,000 jobs, primarily due to temporary disruptions from a Boeing strike and hurricanes Milton and Helene. Despite this low job growth, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, indicating a cooling yet resilient labor market. Job openings have declined, leading to reduced competition for workers, while labor costs have risen at a slower pace of 3.9% over the past year. Consumer spending, however, grew at an annual rate of 3.7% in Q3, supporting economic stability.

This report arrives ahead of the presidential election and a Federal Reserve meeting on interest rates. Inflation was recorded at 2.1% in October, slightly above the Fed’s 2% target, prompting expectations of a quarter-point interest rate cut at the upcoming meeting on November 7, shortly after the election.

Economist Sarah House at Wells Fargo notes, “Wages and salaries continue to outpace inflation, which is beneficial for consumer spending growth.”

In completely unsurprising news – AI Bias in Resume Screening Shows Preference for White Males

A recent study from the University of Washington highlights significant racial and gender biases in AI resume screening tools. Testing three open-source large language models (LLMs), researchers found that these models favored resumes associated with white males 85% of the time, while female-associated names received preference only 11% of the time. Among 3 million job, race, and gender combinations analyzed, Black men were the least favored, with many applications overlooked entirely. This indicates that societal privileges are reflected in AI decision-making, raising concerns about automated hiring fairness.

The study’s authors, Kyra Wilson and Aylin Caliskan, stress the importance of transparency in AI training data and the need for bias-free datasets. They caution that simply anonymizing resumes does not eliminate bias, as AI can still infer identities. Although the AI models tested were not intended for real-world hiring, the findings underscore the increasing awareness of AI-related biases and the necessity for regulatory measures. Jurisdictions like California and New York City are beginning to implement laws aimed at preventing discrimination in AI hiring, though their effectiveness is yet to be evaluated. Wilson’s future research will investigate how human decision-makers interact with AI systems, as reliance on technology may inadvertently exacerbate biases.

In other news – SonicJobs Partners with EarnBetter

EarnBetter has partnered with SonicJobs to streamline job applications, allowing direct applications to SonicJobs’ client openings without redirecting to external sites. This collaboration aims to save job seekers time and reduce application drop-off rates, enhancing the job search experience. EarnBetter offers a free platform for resume assistance, job matching, interview prep, and application tracking, while SonicJobs simplifies the application process.

Mikhil Raja from SonicJobs stated, “The U.S. online recruitment market is fragmented, with $15 billion in annual spending, over 300 Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), and more than 10 million job openings. Traditional API integrations require coordination, which hasn’t happened, leaving candidates facing outdated application experiences. Our AI-agent platform connects the ecosystem, and we are excited to partner with EarnBetter to drive more qualified candidates to our clients and improve the application process for job seekers.”