The US economy added 228,000 jobs in March, significantly exceeding economists’ expectations of 137,000, according to data released on Friday.
However, the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% from 4.1%, while February’s job gains were revised downward from 140,000 to 116,000.
Despite the strong employment figures, market attention remains elsewhere. “On a day when good news doesn’t matter, we saw an encouraging improvement in the job market,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.
Zaccarelli noted that while the unemployment rate increased, it was due to higher labor force participation, which is generally a positive sign.
However, Zaccarelli cautioned that investors are fixated on global trade tensions rather than employment data. “The market is no longer focused on the jobs market and focused squarely on tariffs and trade wars as the US plays chicken with the rest of the world, potentially beginning a downward spiral into a worldwide recession,” he said.
Unless policymakers change course, the economy could be heading toward slower growth and heightened recession risks, he added.
Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist for Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, echoed concerns about the broader economic outlook. “The March monthly jobs report came in much higher than forecast … but it is important to understand that this is backwards-looking data,” he said.
Tentarelli emphasized that markets are more concerned with future economic indicators and the potential impacts from tariffs.
“Our concern here is that the higher-than-expected tariffs are going to lead to a major slowdown in hiring and the labor market,” he said.