Mohamed El-Erian: This Is Actually a Good Jobs Report

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Employers added 151,000 jobs in January, lower than what economists were expecting, while the unemployment ticked down to 4.9%. Mohamed El-Erian, columnist for Bloomberg View and Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz, sounded a positive tone.

MOHAMED EL-ERIAN: This is a good jobs report despite below-consensus job creation numbers. And it's good for the following reasons.  As you mentioned, wages are going up and hours worked are going up, which means more money in the pocket of the conumser.  Secondly, the participation rate is going up, which means that people are coming back into the labor force.  That's good for the longer-term potential of the economy.  And thirdly, we have an unemployment rate now that is at an eight-year low.  So, put it all together.  This is good for Main Street and will good for Wall Street over the longer term, but, and this is an important qualification, that's why yields are higher and the stock market is lower, but it means that you cannot take a March Fed hike completely off the table.

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