March jobs report was 'awesome,' says this strategist

Brian Sozzi
·Executive Editor
2 min read
4
In this article:

One adjective may sum up the March jobs report.

"This report is awesome," John Hancock Investment Management co-chief investment strategist Emily Roland said on Yahoo Finance Live.

Awesome indeed, even if investors couldn't instantly react to it with equities markets closed for the Good Friday holiday.

The U.S. economy created 916,000 jobs in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. That crushed Wall Street estimates for a 660,000 increase, and nearly hit the Street high-end projection of 1 million by BofA's chief U.S. economist Michelle Meyer.

Payrolls for both January and February were also revised higher: January's payroll change was upwardly revised to 233,000 from the 166,000 previously reported, and February's job growth totaled 468,000, up from the 379,000 previously reported. Job gains were widespread, paced by a 280,000 pop in the leisure and hospitality sector.

Economists think the report's strength indicate an economy building major momentum into the summer as people get their COVID-19 vaccines and continue to spend their stimulus checks. To use Roland's adjective, awesome growth could be on tap.

"This is going to be the best growth we have seen since the 1980s and the best job creation we have seen in terms of composition since the 1980s," RSM U.S. chief economist Joseph Brusuelas said on Yahoo Finance Live.

The big question now is whether strong data such as the March jobs report is awesome news for investors. As economic data has strengthened over the past month, it has fanned the fears of inflation and sent the 10-year yield up to close to 1.8%. While the S&P 500 touched a record 4,000 or so on Thursday, its ascent to that point this year has been very volatile (mostly in the last month with yields climbing).

The market inflation angst has sent investors scrambling to dump growth stocks like Amazon and Apple, and scoop up value names.

Roland thinks the value trade will stay in place for the short-term despite the robust jobs numbers.

"I would expect the rotation into more cyclical or economically sensitive parts of the market to continue here. I do think that value will continue to catch a bid as the economy is turbocharged here with more fiscal stimulus and with vaccine rollouts. So that really benefits areas like financials and industrials, which are our favorite pick," Roland says.

Yahoo Finance's Emily McCormick contributed to this story.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

What’s hot from Sozzi:

Watch Yahoo Finance’s live programming on Verizon FIOS channel 604, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Pluto TV, and YouTube. Online catch Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, and LinkedIn.

Advertisement

Recommended Stories