Economy
There were just 57,000 jobs created in the month of June, below the Dow Jones forecast of 115,000 and the lowest number since February. June marks the third consecutive month of cooling jobs numbers. The unemployment rate dropped from 4.3% to 4.2%, but the labor force participation rate also declined to the lowest level we've seen since March 2021. While job growth didn't gain much momentum, the most recent numbers show unemployment insurance claims aren't picking up either as they remain relatively low from week to week. There's been optimism over the last few months of renewed strength in the labor market, but this latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics didn't inspire much confidence. It also didn't do much to shift the market's expectation for future interest rate changes.
Markets
The S&P 500 rose by 1.76% heading in to the holiday weekend. As we shut the books on the second quarter, we find the S&P up more than 9%. Despite the war with Iran leading to an oil price spike and disruption in the energy market, the broader stock market handled the situation in a fairly orderly manner falling less than 10% from peak to trough. The market seems to be seeing past the conflict and has recovered its losses as we are less than 2% below the high water mark set early last month. Looking ahead, we'll have earnings reports for the second quarter start to trickle in next week. John Butters at FactSetwrites that heading into earnings season, stock analysts seem to be more optimistic than normal with their outlook for the quarter.
What We're Reading
- The Cost of Status- Jack Raines
- Seven Misconceptions About Retirement Planning- CRR
Have a great weekend.
Dogwood Wealth Management