The U.S. economic outlook is complicated.
Friday’s two key data points were no exception.
The December jobs report showed more jobs were created last month than expected, while the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since 1969.
Some 90 minutes after this report, data on service sector activity from the Institute for Supply Management suggested recession is nigh.
The release of conflicting data on the state of the economy feels like a daily event for investors. We’re not optimistic the coming weeks and months will change this state of play.
At the heart of this divide are expectations about the economy diverging from data about the reality in the economy.
And what’s been happening is this: There were 4.5 million new jobs created in the U.S. economy last year.
To our minds, this is the most important economic figure of the year.
Going back to World War II, only 2021 has seen a better year for job creation. And the more people with…
