For the second consecutive month the latest jobs growth figures from the US have disappointed market participants and those financial spread betting.
In April US non-farm payrolls rose by only 115,000 which was some way below the figure of 165,000 analysts were expecting. In a separate report the unemployment rate ticked down to 8.1% from 8.2% previously.
The figure for March, which was, back then, another disappointment coming in at 120,000 jobs created, was revised up to 154,000. Up until March and April we had seen three consecutive months of over 200,000 gains.
We’ve been seeing hints of a possible slowing within the world’s largest economy for several weeks now. Industrial production was flat at zero in February which was less than the expected 0.4% growth. Surprisingly, the figure remained unchanged for March where analysts had been expecting growth of 0.3%.
The latest retail sales figure for March revealed an increase of 0.8% from February – the 10th consecutive month of expansion. The figure was higher than expectations but less than the revised 1% growth seen in February.
The Fed’s last Beige Book, an anecdotal survey of economic activity, suggested weaker but steady jobs growth may become the new norm as rising gasoline prices stunt growth. Analysts and those CFD trading should perhaps adjust their expectations accordingly.
