Jim Cramer Says Jobs Report Indicates Economy Can Handle More Rate Hikes

Prominent market commentator Jim Cramer reportedly said the January jobs report shows the economy will remain resilient, despite the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.

What Happened: “If the Fed Chief wants to raise interest rates quarter after quarter, this economy can actually handle it. And that’s the real takeaway from this amazing job growth number,” Cramer said according to a CNBC report.

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The Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, far exceeding economist estimates of 187,000 new jobs. Wage growth dropped to just 4.4% in the month, and the unemployment rate hit a 50-year low of 3.4%.

Price Action: On Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) lost 1.06% while the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQ) fell 1.78%.

“My take is that the comeback from the initial negative reaction in the stock market today, before a move lower in the afternoon, has to do with faith. Faith in thinking that there won’t be a recession. Faith that if the Fed wants to hit us with one or two more rate hikes, we’ll be fine,” Cramer said last week.

The market commentator stated that while the central bank still wants to rein in inflation more, he believes a severe recession is “near impossible” as job growth remains strong. “Anyone who thinks the Fed will have to swiftly cut rates later this year because the economy’s too weak [is] clearly fooling themselves,” Cramer said.

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