January Jobs Report: Smashing Expectations

Jack Bowman8.87K FollowersFollow5ShareSavePlay(9min)CommentsSummaryThe January BLS Jobs Report surprised to the upside, with 135K jobs added and unemployment falling to 4.3%.Prime-age employment and vulnerable worker categories improved, though private labor data remains mixed and somewhat bearish.Large downward revisions plagued last year's jobs data, raising questions about the reliability of initial BLS figures.Fed rate cuts are now expected no sooner than June or July, with policy remaining in 'wait and see' mode barring further trend shifts. Justin Paget/DigitalVision via Getty Images Delayed due to the partial government shutdown, but now released, the January Jobs Report from the BLS delivered good news, with the unemployment rate falling again, now down to 4.3%. This is still elevated but trending in the rightThis article was written byJack Bowman8.87K FollowersFollowNewsletter Author | Investment Advisor | Top 5% of Experts on TipRanks | Long Signal, Short Noise | The Macro Obsession newsletter is a weekly brief on current events and trends in finance, tech, and the real economy. I am a macro-oriented and data-driven investor who obsesses over connecting dots that others don't see (or want to see), expressing my views through concentrated, asymmetrical, and high-conviction positions. I manage risk with discipline, often reminding investors that position sizing is often more important than security selection. I'm on a quest to uncover narrative trends before mainstream financial media, a process I've been describing as the hunt for information alpha. "Successful investing requires holding uncomfortably idiosyncratic positions." — Howard Marks, paraphrasing David Swensen "History does not repeat, it instructs." — Timothy Snyder, On TyrannyAnalyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.