CNBC analyst Rick Santelli was beside himself on Friday as he reacted on air to the latest federal data showing that US employers added 528,000 new jobs in July – more than twice the expected number.
“This is awesome!” Santelli told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Friday.
Economists had expected an additional 250,000 jobs in July, prompting Santelli to say, “528,000! 528,000, double the expected total! And 528,000 is the best number since February when we were over 700,000, revisions for the last two months are 28,000.”
Fox Business news anchor Maria Bartiromo was also surprised when the latest jobs data was released Friday morning.
“Wow, that’s pretty amazing,” Bartiromo, a fierce critic of the Biden administration, said live on air when told about the numbers.
Although the strong labor market and record low unemployment rates persisted, analysts said that did not necessarily bode well for the Fed’s efforts to skyrocket inflation rates.
Wall Street’s main indexes fell in response to the latest jobs report as investors braced for more aggressive interest rate hikes from the central bank.
“The hot labor market shows that the Federal Reserve’s determination to fight inflation is not yet bearing fruit,” Sung Won Son, an economics professor at Loyola Marymount University, told The Post.
Son pointed to labor shortages in key sectors of the economy, including airlines, leisure and hospitality and restaurants.
“The lethargic labor force participation rate shows that workers are not yet worried about a recession and are willing to wait for better opportunities,” Sohn said.
“That’s huge,” Santelli said after learning the U.S. added 528,000 new jobs in July. Twitter/@SquawkCNBC
“The 5.2% increase in wages from a year ago is not enough to entice them back to work.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.05% as of 10:23 a.m. Friday, while the S&P 500 was down 0.08%. The Nasdaq lost 0.04%.
“This is a job market that just won’t go away,” Becky Frankiewicz, president and chief commercial officer of ManpowerGroup, told The Post.
“Economic indicators signal caution, but US employers signal confidence.”
Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at Charlotte-based LPL Financial, told The Post: “Falling unemployment and participation rates will frustrate central bankers as a tighter labor market adds inflation risk to the economy.”
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