Every now and again, we here at the Morning Brief delight in bringing our readers some good news that helps leaven a news diet filled with grim to outright depressing news. As Russia continues its brutal frontal assault on Ukraine which continues to whipsaw markets there are still signs of encouragement in an unpredictable world that’s spiraling into near-anarchy.
The labor market is as resilient as it has ever been, and is poised to improve even further as the Omicron wave retreats into relative obscurity. We’ll know more when February’s payrolls data is released later this morning, but it appears more than likely that we’re in for an upside surprise.
The jobs data is consistent with other high frequency data releases that, as the Wall Street Journal put it earlier this week, positions the U.S. “to withstand the economic shock that might emanate from battlegrounds in Ukraine.” Even as surging energy prices and the fallout from punitive Russian sanctions ricochet across the global economy, “the economic expansion appears to be on solid ground,” The WSJ’s Jon Hisenrath wrote.
“We are seeing a post-Omicron snapback in some of the economic data, COVID is not in the picture as much anymore but that’s good in terms of economic backdrop,” John Hancock Investment Management Co-Chief Investment Strategist Matthew Miskin told Yahoo Finance Live on Thursday. “We do see the U.S. economy holding in relatively well, all things considered.”
Plentiful employment, of course, is feeding the problem of insatiable demand that’s also feeding the supply chain crisis. Demand is also spurring higher prices in everything from food to energy, and those effects are unlikely to see appreciable relief, as Yahoo Finance’s Ihsaan Fanusie wrote on Thursday. In recent days, wheat futures have captivated market watchers, with prices hitting their highest in over a decade.
