The U.S. Department of Labor announced on Friday (10th) that the number of new non-agricultural employment in February was 311,000, which was higher than the market expectation of 205,000, and the previous value was revised to 504,000. However, the unemployment rate for the month was 3.6%, which was higher than market expectations and the previous value of 3.4%, while the growth rate of average hourly wages slowed down, which sent mixed signals on whether the Federal Reserve (Fed) will accelerate the pace of interest rate hikes .
February non-farm payrolls report:
- Non-agricultural new employment reported 311,000, expected 205,000, and the revised previous value was 504,000
- Unemployment rate reported at 3.6%, expected 3.4%, the previous value of 3.4%
- Average workweek 34.5 hours, expected 34.6 hours, revised 34.6 hours before
- Annual growth in average hourly earnings was reported at 4.6%, compared with 4.7% expected and 4.4% previously
- Average hourly wages rose 0.2% on month, compared with 0.3% expected and 0.3% previously
- The labor force participation rate was reported at 62.5%, the previous value was 62.4%
Futures on major U.S. stock indexes fell after the data,Dow Jones IndexFutures fell 0.33%,S&P 500 IndexFutures fell 0.32%,Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.03%.
Investors may believe that this report will allow the Fed to raise interest rates by 1 yard (25 basis points) at the March meeting, rather than 2 yards (50 basis points) as most of the market had previously expected. CME Group’s FedWatch Tool shows that the probability of the Fed raising interest rates by 2 yards in March is 49.8%, which is a sharp drop from 80% earlier.
The number of new non-agricultural jobs in the United States in February was 311,000, far exceeding the expected 205,000, and the revised value was 504,000. The unemployment rate was 3.6% in February, slightly higher than the expected and 3.4% of the previous value.
It is worth mentioning that the new non-agricultural employment in December last year was revised down from 260,000 to 239,000, and in January this year it was revised down from 517,000 to 504,000. After these revisions, December and January combined created 34,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.
The largest job gains were in the entertainment and leisure, retail, government and medical sectors, but job losses fell in the information, transportation and warehousing sectors.
Continually updated…
