Better Than Expected NFP Data

NFP Data

In the Non-Farm Payroll report (NFP Data), the U.S. economy added slightly more jobs than expected in April amid an increasingly tight labor market and despite surging inflation and fears of a growth slowdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Analysts expected the U.S. economy to add 391,000 jobs in April, a slight slowdown from the previous month’s 431,000. While the official report showed total nonfarm payroll employment (NFP Data) increased by 428,000 in April while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6%.

The labor force participation rate, a key measure of worker engagement, fell 0.2% for the month to 62.2%, the first monthly decline since March 2021 as the labor force contracted by 363,000. The level is of particular importance with a gap of about 5.6 million between job postings and available workers

The household surveys measure labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys.

On the other side, the average hourly earnings continued to grow, but at a 0.3% level for the month which was a bit below the 0.4% estimate. On a year-over-year basis, earnings were up 5.5%, about the same as in March but still below the pace of inflation.

The Market

U.S. stock markets extended their losses after enduring their worst day since the first wave of the pandemic on Thursday. Dow futures were down 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.6%.

Spot Euro surged to 1.0600 prior to the report release, but the common currency canceled 50% of these gains after. On the other side, the Sterling Pound continued to fall to trade at around 1.2320.

Spot gold retains its downward trend. The precious metal is expected to continue towards 1,825 as investors gained confidence in the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, U.S. crude futures were up 2.3% at $110.69 a barrel, while Brent crude was up 2.2% at $113.39. After the report, both benchmarks lost around $2.