By the numbers:
- April non-farm payroll (NFP) +164K vs. +192Ke
- Change in private payrolls: +168K vs. +190Ke
- Change in manufacturing payrolls: +30K vs. +20Ke
- Birth-death adjustment: +260K vs. +65K prior
- US March payrolls revised to +135K; Feb Revised to +324K
- Prior change in private payrolls revised higher from: +102K to +135K
- April unemployment rate: +3.9% vs. +4.1%
- Apr Average Hourly Earnings +0.15%, or +$0.04 to $26.84; Over Year +2.6%
- Apr Average Workweek Unchanged at 34.5 Hours
- US Apr Labor-Force Participation Rate 62.8%
The jobless rate in the U.S fell to +3.9% in April, touching the lowest mark since December 2000. U.S employers added +164k jobs, a pickup from March and more than enough to keep up with population growth.
Nevertheless, workers’ wages continued to grow sluggishly despite the historically low unemployment rate. Wages grew +4c over the month and +2.6% over the past year.
Employers have stepped up hiring this spring – they have added an average +208K jobs over the past three-months, well above last year’s monthly average of +182K.
For rate ‘hawks,’ signs of a tightening labor market may push the Fed to consider raising short-term interest rates slightly more aggressively this year than they have signalled to date.
Hourly pay for private-sector workers rose, on average, rose +0.15% from a month earlier to +$26.84 in April. That figure was +2.6% above the year ago level.
The dollar is little changed on the market miss and U.S equity futures have pared declines after the release. U.S 10’s are trading a tad shy of +2.93%.
