What Jobs Numbers Tell Us About Further Rate Increases

What Jobs Numbers Tell Us About Further Rate Increases by Rick Rieder, BlackRock

BlackRock’s Rick Rieder explains why he thinks job growth will slow down by the second half of the year and shares his thoughts on the broader implications for central bank policy.

The labor markets finished strong in 2015, but the growth is bound to be difficult to sustain for two key reasons: First, it’s getting harder for employers to find qualified applicants, and second, economic conditions in the U.S. may have begun to moderate. Here’s a look at how payrolls tend to follow company profits, but with a lag:

We’ve also seen temporary hiring...