Displaying items by tag: hiring

(Washington)

Is the US economy breaking out of its short-term data tailspin? Maybe. This week has seen some improved news, none more so than new hiring data released this morning. US hiring in March was much better, with the economy creating 196,000 jobs, significantly higher than forecasted and up hugely from February’s barely positive numbers. Wage growth decreased slightly in pace, but was solid at 3.2%. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.8%.

FINSUM: This could mean the weak data recently was just a blip and things are still on course. The data is lining up to show this might have been a big bond market overreaction…

(New York)

The whole market has been on recession watch mode lately. The Fed has gone seriously dovish and weak economic data seems to be emerging by the day. However, some good news, at last: US jobless data just clocked in at the lowest level in 50 years, showing that the labor market is still tight. The numbers were in contrast to economists’ estimates for higher claims. Claims have fallen this far recently, but been revised higher later.

FINSUM: This is good news but it may not be indicative of much as this data could be slightly behind the hiring numbers, which have been weak recently.

(New York)

The economic picture is growing increasingly gloomy for the US. While there has been sporadically good data, the general trend is downward across many areas. Today, more information on the labor market is signaling a further deterioration. ADP hiring data has been released and it shows that sector hiring has fallen to an 18-month low. The private sector hired 129,000 new workers, missing expectations. “The job market is weakening”, says Moody’s Analytics, bluntly.

FINSUM: The job market seems like a good leading indicator right now. Company’s may be tightening purse strings, which could be a sign that everything is slowing.