US economy added 295,000 jobs in February while the unemployment rate fell to 5.5%. Wage growth, however, is stubbornly low.
BofA Merrill Lynch notes in a report on Monday:
- After a string of weak retail sales reports, we look for a decent acceleration in spending in are forecasting GDP growth of only 2.0% in 1Q, in contrast to the solid expansion in the labor market.
- While we expect the economy to get back on its 3% recovery track, the weak start to the year calls for a cautious Fed.