Some good news for the world on Friday night as the US jobs report hit expectations, from the BLS:
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in April, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, and construction. Mining employment continued to decline.
… The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for February was revised from +264,000 to +266,000, and the change for March was revised from +126,000 to +85,000. With these revisions, employment gains in February and March combined were 39,000 lower than previously reported.
To the charts, as always from the superb Calculated Risk, the headline rebound:
Unemployment rate down:
Year on year growth easing:
Productivity series improving:
Wages still quiescent:
Broader labour market still has plenty of slack:
No evidence of imminent rate hikes so bonds and shares were bought.
