Despite economists warning the job market recovery may have weakened, the U.S. performed better in January than experts were expecting
Despite a record wave of Covid-19 cases, the U.S. added back a surprisingly strong 467,000 new jobs in January, performing much better than experts were expecting in a report that’s likely to justify the Federal Reserve’s aggressive tightening measures—a potentially bad sign for the already struggling stock market....
Despite the better-than-expected report, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4%, compared to 3.9% in December, when the figure hit its lowest point in more than a year, and well above pre-pandemic levels of about 3.5%. In a Friday morning note, market analyst Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge Media said the “very strong” report “certainly” heightens the risk that the Fed will continue to move aggressively in hiking interest rates—a prospect that ushered in the stock market’sStock futures fell immediately after the report, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average set to open down 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively.
surge in inflation, Hamrick says. Following the report, LPL Financial analyst Barry Gilbert said the Fed is now likely to raise rates four or more times this year—compared to the three interest-rate hikes officials projected late last year.