3m agoWith the jobs numbers now out, the macro focus will turn to Powell’s remarks later today and, of course, developments on the trade front. Meanwhile, let’s CATCH UP on what we’ve gleaned from US employment report for March, released Friday:

• US job growth beat forecasts and the unemployment rate edged higher; nonfarm payrolls increased 228,000 last month after downward revisions to the prior two months
• Health care added 52,000 jobs; retail trade added 24,000 (as workers came back from a strike); and transportation and warehousing rose by 23,000.
• The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% as the participation rate climbed. Pay gains were firm as hourly earnings came in as expected at 0.3% month-on-month.
• Even as total government employment (state and federal) rose, there were hints of the DOGE effect on federal jobs which fell 4,000 in March after a loss of 11,000 jobs in February. (The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that employees on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the establishment survey.)
• The market reaction to the report was muted; stock futures and Treasury yields remained lower after the report. At the open of regular trading, the S&P 500 dropped 2.5%.

Enda CurranGlobal Economy Reporter