Job creation decelerated in February but was still stronger than expected despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to slow the economy and bring down inflation.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 311,000 for the month.
That was above the 225,000 estimate and a sign that the employment market is still hot.
Continued reporting of a hot economy (including the jobs market) will reinforce the Fed’s confidence in raising interest rates.
The Fed knows that a high rate environment will cost jobs, and the market has yet to see the implications of that yet.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, above the expectation for 3.4%, amid a tick higher in the labor force participation rate to 62.5%, its highest level since March 2020.
Allow me to put this in perspective: We’ve just reached the highest workforce participation rate since Covid hit. It’s taken 3 years for the stimulus to dry up and people to go back to work.
That in itself is a wild statistic!
And just when you think that’s enough to disrupt the market, there’s this:
Silicon Valley Bank is shut down by regulators in biggest bank failure since global financial crisis
Financial regulators have closed Silicon Valley Bank and taken control of its deposits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Friday, in what is the largest U.S. bank failure since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago.
The collapse of SVB, a key player in the tech and venture capital community, leaves companies and wealthy individuals largely unsure of what will happen to their money.
As of the end of December, SVB had roughly $209 billion in total assets and $175.4 billion in total deposits, according to the press release.
The FDIC said it was unclear what portion of those deposits were above the insurance limit.
The last U.S. bank failure of this size was Washington Mutual in 2008, which had $307 billion in assets.
And we all know what followed in 2008. Now I’m not saying the same is going to occur, but if you look around, things are starting to show cracks. The bubble burst is underway.
Don’t get caught holding the bag! Be prepared… prepared to fend for yourself in order to not be a victim, but rather a producer for yourself and your family.
If I can be of service to you, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Learn more about the services I can offer to help you be that producer!