The US economy added 98,000 new jobs in March. Of those 89,000 were in the private sector.  The unemployment rate fell to 4.5%. (Labor Department)

Costco had higher comparable same store sales last month of 6%, following an increase of 4% in February and 7% in January. The company had sales of $11.64 billion in March, up 9% year over year. Costco, has 729 warehouse stores, 508 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 95 in Canada, 37 in Mexico and 79 in the rest of the world. (Zacks)

The Federal Reserve minutes from the March meeting show they were beginning to discuss the gradual reduction of the Fed's $4.5 trillion balance sheet.  No final decision was made. They also expressed concern about stock valuations. (LPL Research)

Initial jobless claims for the week showed a continued decline in those seeking unemployment benefits. The decrease in claims to 234,000 points toward a tightening labor market. This marks the 109th straight week the figure has come in below 300,000, a key threshold generally associated with a healthy labor market. (LPL Research)

Join us this weekend for Financial Focus Radio Show when will answer the question “What should I do if the stock market falls?”

With Northwest Quadrant Wealth Management, a Registered Investment Advisor I am Troy Reinhart.