The December jobs report crushed expectations on Jan. 4, with 312,000 jobs added, a strong participation rate, wage gains and two months of upward revisions. That was 136,000 jobs more than expected.
“It’s good for the economy, it’s good for the country. The jobs number was very solid. Certain things are excellent! Okay?” said CNBC’s on-air editor Rick Santelli before enumerating them on Squawk Box. “The labor force participation rate moving up two-tenths is phenomenal. We are bringing back people we didn’t count.”
Squawk on the Street co-anchor Jim Cramer was also thrilled by what the jobs report showed for “working” Americans. He saw the data as proof inflation is “under control,” and wages are going up.
“What a great opportunity to wait, see if this can continue. Things under control, jobs being created, new people coming into the workforce. This is the kind of number I want to see,” Cramer said. “And I’m not begrudging if the Dow sells off, big deal. Working people are getting jobs. Many good things occur when they get jobs.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed combined upward revisions of 58,000 to October and November, and a 3.9 percent unemployment rate partly due to more people looking for work. CNBC reported that expectations for the report had been about 176,000.
Co-anchor David Faber noted on Squawk on the Street that the addition of the December report brought 2018 job gains to more than 2.6 million and “the strongest year for jobs growth since 2015.”
