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JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!



“Jobs surge in April, unemployment rate falls to the lowest since 1969” https://t.co/4DGpumMISf — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 3, 2019

U.S. stock futures held their gains after the report. The fed funds futures market briefly showed a slight reduction in odds for a Federal Reserve rate cut this year, before returning to where it was prior to the data, following calls from President Donald Trump and others for a reduction to support the expansion. Policy makers reiterated their patient stance this week as Chairman Jerome Powell cited “very strong job creation” while noting weaker inflation.

Here’s what the analyst say:

“It’s clearly telling you this economy is still chugging along very nicely,” Torsten Slok, chief economist at Deutsche Bank Securities, said on Bloomberg Television. “It is inflationary in the sense that wages did go up but they didn’t go up as much as we had expected.”

“Goldilocks is the best description of this,” Slok said.

The surprising robustness follows months of broad labour market strength. While the expansion is poised to become the nation’s longest on record at midyear, economists expect a deceleration this year even after a strong first quarter.

Revisions for February and March added 16,000 more jobs than previously reported, while the three-month average fell to 169,000.

Friday’s data follow a Federal Open Market Committee statement Wednesday saying “the labor market remains strong.” Officials in March forecast a 3.7 per cent unemployment rate at year end.

Payroll Details

The payroll gains were somewhat uneven, with construction, health care, and professional and business services posting gains while retail employment fell by 12,000 for a third- straight decline.