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CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday no matter your view on President Donald Trump there’s no denying we’re living in the best labor market in more than a generation.
“You can’t contradict that these are the best numbers of our lives. You can’t,” Cramer, 64, said following the government report showing the U.S. economy created a better-than-expected 266,000 nonfarm jobs in November, with the unemployment rate dipping to 3.5%, matching a 50-year low. Economists had expected the jobless rate to hold steady at 3.6% last month.
“People don’t want to say good things” about the economy, said Cramer, echoing comments he made Thursday evening on “Mad Money,” telling investors: “Don’t let the armageddonists and the negativists and the hucksters scare you away from owning stocks.”
Referring to Trump, Cramer said Friday on “Squawk Box,” shortly after the jobs report was released, “It doesn’t matter whether you hate him or like him, these are real numbers.”
“This is the best number I’ve ever seen in my life,” Cramer said, zeroing in on the unemployment rate. “Fifty years ago, that number was a curse. Now it’s a blessing.” He added, “I don’t see inflation. I don’t see recession.”
Cramer said the strong U.S. job market is going to allow America to win the trade war with China. “The president can walk away from the table with this number.” He added: “In the end, the Chinese are going to have to put jobs here.”
Washington and Beijing have been locked in a 17-month-long trade war that’s seen both sides put billions and billions of dollars of tariffs on each others’ imports. Negotiators for the world’s two biggest economies are trying to cement a “phase one” trade deal, which was announced in principle in October.
The next round of U.S. tariffs against Chinese-made goods, including smartphones and laptops, are set to go into effect on Dec. 15.
The stock market has been fighting its way higher for months, as positive and negative headlines on U.S.-China trade talks have whipsawed Wall Street on a day-to-day basis. With robust gains Friday on those strong jobs numbers, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was less than 1% from last week’s all-time high — and after a rough start to December, closing in on positive territory for the week.
China on Friday said it will waive tariffs for some soybeans and pork shipments from the U.S., after Trump struck an upbeat tone on progress toward a “phase one” deal on Thursday as the Dow logged its second straight session of gains.
Also on Friday, top Trump economic advisor Larry Kudlow said the U.S. and China are “close” to a trade deal. However, the National Economic Council director stressed, in a CNBC interview, that the president was prepared to walk away if he doesn’t get the terms he wants.
