Weekly Market Commentary 04/01/2016

Whether the news is good or bad, the Labor Department’s headline-grabbing monthly jobs report on the first Friday of the month does have one compelling virtue: it takes attention away from an increasingly rancorous political campaign. Not that the two aren’t connected. A particularly bad (or good) report could well inflame the political debate, as nothing is more important to voters than jobs. And indeed, there is plenty of fodder for both Democrats and Republicans to feast on when it comes to discussing the job market. The former can point to the steady improvement in job growth and declining unemployment rate, while the latter can criticize the quality of jobs being created as well as stagnant wage growth.