The January jobs report is possibly the biggest labor market surprise ever. Economists were expecting just 185,000 jobs were added last month, but Friday’s number blew that estimate out of the water and was almost double even the most optimistic forecast of 300,000 jobs added.
Analysts and market watchers struggled to find the words to describe the Friday morning surprise: Juggernaut, barnstormer, bombshell, monster, whopper, explosive, dynamite, blowout, eye-popper, bullet train…
Here’s how economists reacted Friday:
“This is a labor market on heat; nobody would have expected a number as monstrous as this.” — Seema Shah, chief global strategist, Principal Asset Management
“Half a million jobs, climb down off the wall, call the recession off. This isn’t a soft-landing, the economy is still flying high.” — Chris Rupkey, chief economist, FWDBONDS LLC
“The undeniably strong report is what markets hope for coming out of a recession, but not what you want to see when expectations for the end of the Fed rate hike campaign is suddenly challenged by significantly stronger labor market.” — Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist, LPL Financial
“January was a miraculous month. But good news is good news, and this shows many more Americans working and a jobs market that foreshadows many more Americans likely to take jobs in the future.” — Robert Frick, corporate economist, Navy Federal Credit Union
“Clearly, those who want to work are able to find a job in this economy. How does a recession happen when everyone has a job?” — Andrew Crapuchettes, CEO, RedBalloon.
