Here are the key takeaways for the US employment report for April released Friday:
(Bloomberg) — Here are the key takeaways for the US employment report for April released Friday:
- US payroll gains unexpectedly accelerated last month, with the 253,000 increase beating all but three of the 77 forecasts in Bloomberg’s survey. The gain was led by health and education jobs, with a 77,000 bump, and by a 31,000 climb in leisure and hospitality jobs. Manufacturing payrolls also unexpectedly rose.
- Average hourly earnings also came in hot, with a 0.5% increase against a median forecast for 0.3%. That was the biggest increase in wages since July, and brought the annual pace of gains to 4.4% — well above the 3% pace economists view as consistent with a 2% inflation rate.
- With the Federal Reserve’s next meeting not until mid-June, economists said the report doesn’t necessarily undermine the likelihood that policymakers have now paused their interest-rate hikes. But it did make the prospect of rate cuts in coming months less likely, while strengthening the “higher-for-longer” scenario.
- The Black unemployment rate fell to 4.7%, a record low for that data series, though the Black participation rate dropped. The jobless rate for White people fell to 3.1%. The labor-force participation rate dipped slightly, with the number of people in the job market retreating from March.
- Two-year Treasury yields climbed after the release undermined the case for Fed rate cuts on the horizon. Two-year rates were at 3.87%, up about 8 basis points. The S&P 500 climbed more than 1% at the open as the data reduced chances of a near-term recession.
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