{"id":3298,"date":"2019-02-04T09:51:31","date_gmt":"2019-02-04T14:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/109.199.100.74\/~scarletoakfs88\/?p=3298"},"modified":"2023-07-20T17:59:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T21:59:59","slug":"hiring-surge-brings-good-new-in-february","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scarletoakfs.com\/hiring-surge-brings-good-new-in-february\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiring Surge Brings Good New in February"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this week\u2019s recap: a hiring surge, a noteworthy remark from Jerome Powell, a dip for a respected household confidence index, and gains on Wall Street.<\/em><\/p>\n

Weekly Economic Update<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

February BEGINS WITH SOME EXCELLENT ECONOMIC DATA <\/strong><\/p>\n

Payrolls swelled with 304,000 net new jobs last month, according to the Department of Labor\u2019s February employment report. (A Bloomberg survey of economists had projected a gain of 165,000.) The number of Americans temporarily laid off or working part time for economic reasons increased greatly in January as a consequence of the partial federal government shutdown; that left the unemployment rate (4.0%) and underemployment rate (8.1%) higher. Average hourly wages were up 3.2% year-over-year. Additionally, the factory sector expanded at a faster pace last month: the Institute for Supply Management\u2019s purchasing manager index improved 2.5 points to a mark of 56.6.1,2<\/sup><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FED HINTS AT THE POSSIBILITY OF PAUSING RATE HIKES<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Federal Reserve made no interest rate move last week, but at its January 30 press conference, Fed chairman Jerome Powell had an interesting comment for the media: \u201cWe believe we can best support the economy by being patient before making any future adjustment to policy.\u201d To investors large and small, that remark sounded like a declaration that the central bank was ready to exercise extra caution in considering future rate increases. Powell noted the recent emergence of \u201csome crosscurrents and conflicting signals about the [economic] outlook\u201d as a factor.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HOW ARE CONSUMERS FEELING?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The latest readings on the country\u2019s two most-watched consumer confidence indices look good, but one just took a major fall. The Conference Board\u2019s monthly index went from a December mark of 126.6 to 120.2 in January. In its final January edition, the University of Michigan\u2019s consumer sentiment gauge displayed a 91.2 reading, up 0.5 points from its preliminary version.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MAJOR INDICES MAKE ANOTHER WEEKLY ADVANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all gained more than 1.3%, thanks in part to some of the developments mentioned above. The S&P rose 7.87% during January. Oil ended the week at $55.31 on the NYMEX; gold, at $1,322.60 on the COMEX.4,5<\/sup><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THIS WEEK<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n