The year opened with a bang as employers added 353,000 jobs in January, far exceeding the most optimistic of forecasts. Revisions also raised the November job number to 182,000 and also added 117,000 more jobs to December. “The labor market is certainly cooling,” Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, said ahead of the report. “I think the labor market by many measures is at or nearing normal, but not totally back to normal,” Powell told reporters. But it is hard to contain the enthusiasm that a strong jobs report along with moderating inflation is good for most Americans.

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Persons: “, ”, Becky Frankiewicz, isn’t, ” “ We’re, December’s downwardly, ” Brent Schutte, seasonality, Amy Glaser, Glaser, Chris Todd, ” Todd, Jerome Powell, ” Powell, “ It’s, Julia Pollak, ” Schutte Organizations: ADP, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, Adecco, BLS, Federal Reserve, Federal