Mohamed A. El-Erian , Columnist

Quick Takeaways From the March Jobs Report

The data should ease worry about an overheating economy and a Fed policy mistake.

April 6, 2018 at 2:32 PM UTC

Mohamed A. El-Erian is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A former chief executive officer of Pimco, he is president of Queens’ College, Cambridge; chief economic adviser at Allianz SE; and chair of Gramercy Fund Management. He is author of “The Only Game in Town.”

Trade tensions could become a drag.
Photographer: Miguel Candela/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

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Given heightened international trade tensions, including the possibility of more U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, along with ongoing transitions in the economy, policy and markets, the U.S. jobs report for March had the potential to either amplify or dampen market volatility. The latter is more likely at the margin, at least in the short term.

Although the job-creation numbers came in below expectations and the previous two months’ data were revised lower, wage growth met expectations and the multimonth average pace of employment growth stayed solid. As such, the report released Friday should serve to reduce the concerns of some about the risks of an overheating economy that would increase the chance of a policy mistake by the Federal Reserve.