One Government Report Can Swing Your 401k by Hundreds of Dollars. Here's How.
Bottom line
One monthly report about hiring can move your retirement savings by hundreds of dollars in a single day.
In this guide
What it is
The jobs report is a monthly government survey that counts how many people were hired, fired, or stopped looking for work last month. released the first Friday of every month.
By the numbers
If the report shows 250,000 new jobs added when analysts expected 150,000, stock prices typically jump 1 2% the same morning. on a $20,000 retirement account, that's a $400 swing before lunch.
How it works
Strong hiring means people have paychecks to spend, which boosts company revenues, which pushes stock prices up. but it also signals the Federal Reserve (the central bank that sets borrowing rates) may raise interest rates to prevent prices from rising too fast, which pushes stocks back down.
The catch
A low unemployment rate. the share of people actively looking for work who can't find it. sounds like good news, but it can actually trigger higher interest rates, making your car loan, mortgage, and credit card debt more expensive within weeks of the report dropping.
What to check next
Look up the next jobs report release date and check the current unemployment rate at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. bls.gov. takes 3 minutes.
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