Inflation is rising, with CPI climbing steeply above the Fed’s 2% target. But core CPI excluding energy and food remains stable.
Job gains were the lowest since May 2016.
But the unemployment rate fell to a low 4.5%.
Hourly wage rate growth has eased below 2.5%, suggesting that underlying inflationary pressures are contained.
The Fed is unlikely to accelerate its normalization of interest rates unless we see a surge in core inflation and/or hourly earnings growth.