Solid, Not Spectacular: Lower Than Expected Jobs Growth Could Ease Fears Of Fed Tapering

Solid, Not Spectacular: Lower Than Expected Jobs Growth Could Ease Fears Of Fed Tapering

May's jobs report could be seen as a "Goldilocks" kind of data point, even if it wasn't as strong as many had hoped with 559, 000 jobs created. That was solid, but not spectacular. In sum, it doesn't look like there's anything in the report that's going to change the Fed's mind about continued need for monetary stimulus. Worries of a more "hawkish" Fed might diminish a bit here, perhaps loosening concerns on Wall Street about possible early tightening. Going into the report, some market participants had worried that a really big number or a major positive revision to April might get the Fed worried about possible economic overheating and inflation. There's no way to read the Fed's mind, obviously, but at first glance those worries seem to be unnecessary and an early "tapering" of monetary stimulus appears a bit less likely. Overall, today's headline number is far from a disaster. In fact, 559, 000 would have been considered an amazing figure before Covid. Any kind of job growth is good for workers and the economy. But with so many millions still unemployed, some market watchers had looked for bigger gains. Major indices had been mixed heading into the data,