The strong jobs report comes amid a challenging year for the U.S. economy. Recession fears surged in late-summer amid worries that a global slowdown would spread to American shores. The back-and-forth lobbing of tariffs between the U.S. and China also raised fears of instability, and the bond market sent what has been a reliable recession indicator when short-term government yields rose above their longer-term counterparts. The Fed reacted by cutting its benchmark interest rate three times, part of what officials deemed insurance against a potential slowdown.
Those recession fears have ebbed recently, though, as consumer and business sentiment remains high, spending remains resilient and the stock market scales new highs.
The Fed meets next week, and officials have been clear that they plan no further rate changes unless conditions change significantly.
