US non-farm payroll employment grew 253k in April, well above expectation of 181k. However, prior month’s growth figure was revised sharply down from 236k to 165k. That compared to the average monthly growth of 290k over the prior 6 months.
Unemployment rate dropped from 3.5% to 3.4%, below expectation of staying unchanged at 3.5%. Overall, unemployment rate has ranged from 3.4% to 3.7% since March 2022. Labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.6%. Employment-population ratio was also unchanged at 60.4%.
Average hourly earnings grew strongly by 0.5% mom, above expectation of 0.3% mom. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.4%.
