– Wall Street is mixed Friday after data suggested the U.S. job market is still warm enough to keep the economy growing but maybe not so hot that it stokes inflation.
Besides the slowdown in overall hiring, some numbers underneath the report's surface also showed some loosening in the job market. More people are working part-time because their hours have been cut, for example, said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.That could keep the Federal Reserve on the course it’s been hinting at recently: perhaps two more increases this year before the Fed holds rates at a high level to ensure inflation returns to its 2% target.
Some concerning signals for inflation were also still embedded in the report. Wage growth held steady last month, instead of slowing as economists expected, for example. While workers would prefer the 4.4% gain in average hourly earnings from a year earlier instead of the 4.2% that was predicted, Wall Street's fear is that the Fed will see too-strong wage growth as keeping upward pressure on inflation.
Smaller banks that have been under heavy scrutiny as Wall Street hunts for other potential weak links were also climbing. PacWest Bancorp gained 1.8%.
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