May NFP = +175K, Unemployment Rate = 7.6%

This morning’s jobs report showed that the U.S. economy created 175,000 jobs last month. The figure for March was revised higher by 4,000 while April was revised down by 12,000.

Despite signs of optimism from consumers, other indicators of the health of the job market have been mixed. Average weekly hours and average hourly earnings, for example, have shown little improvement in recent months, according to the Labor Department.

Job gains in May were concentrated in service sectors like professional and business services, retail, and food services and drinking places. That last category has added 337,000 jobs over the past year.

The federal government, on the other hand, lost 14,000 jobs in May, presumably a result of the across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester, implemented by Congress in March.

The only thing remotely interesting about this report is how close it is to the established trend. Over the last 32 months, NFP has averaged a gain of 178,000. The standard deviation has been just 67,000. In other words, we’re locked in a trend.

Officially, the unemployment rate rose from 7.5% in April to 7.6% for May. If you work out the decimals, it rose from 7.510% to 7.555%.

This is a pretty dull report. Still, the stock market is very pleased. So far, the S&P 500 is up about 1% to 1,640.

fredgraph06072013

Posted by on June 7th, 2013 at 10:47 am


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