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The U.S. labor market showed its resilience added more jobs than expected in April. There were 253,000 Nonfarm Payroll jobs added, ahead of the consen
[See the full post at: Resilient U.S. Economy Added 253,000 Jobs in April, Caution with Large 235,000 Downward Revisions]There were some sizable downward revisions accompanying the April employment report that combined left employment in February and March 149,000 lower than previously reported; however, nonfarm payroll growth sprung back nicely in April from the revised March level. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, dipped to 3.4% from 3.5%, matching the 54-year low seen earlier this year in January.
The latter point notwithstanding, there are some elements of weakness in the data, namely that the average workweek remained at 34.4 hours, temporary help positions declined by 23,300, and persons unemployed for 27 weeks or more increased to 20.6% of the unemployed versus 18.9% in March. An attention-grabbing strong suit in the report, though, is that average hourly earnings were up 4.5% year-over-year versus 4.3% in March.
The key takeaway from the report is that it substantiates why the Fed isn’t inclined to cut rates soon, but at the same time the continued strength in the labor market after nine rate hikes (the 10th rate hike came after the data for April were collected) lends some hope to the idea that a soft landing for the economy is still possible.
Initial jobless claims for the week ending May 6 increased by 22,000 to 264,000 (consensus 247,000).
Continuing jobless claims for the week ending April 29 increased by 12,000 to 1.813 million.The key takeaway from the report is that initial claims reached their highest level since October 30, 2021, tracking in a direction that reflects a labor market that is becoming less tight.
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