U.S Payrolls Miss Estimates

June 2, 2017 Share Print 0

The U.S. labor market gave mixed signals in May, with a decline in the unemployment rate to a 16-year low contrasting with below-forecast hiring and wage growth, Labor Department figures showed Friday.

HIGHLIGHTS OF EMPLOYMENT (MAY)

Payrolls rose 138k (est. 182k rise); March-April revisions subtracted 66k jobs

Unemployment rate, derived from a separate survey of households, fell to 4.3% (est. 4.4%) from 4.4%

Average hourly earnings rose by 0.2% m/m (matching est.); climbed 2.5% y/y (est. 2.6%)

Key Takeaways

Cooler hiring may partly reflect the challenge of finding skilled and experienced workers amid a tightening job market. It may also be a sign businesses are reluctant to expand their workforce until they see more evidence the new administration’s plans are translating into legislation that’ll reduce taxes and spur growth.

The decline in the unemployment rate — while a sign of a tightening job market — was also due to a drop in the size of the labor force, as the number of people classified as employed and unemployed fell by roughly the same amount.

Even with the figures, economic growth is likely to rebound this quarter and the U.S. is near full employment, helping explain why Federal Reserve policy makers are expected to raise interest rates when they meet June 13-14. Sustained hiring amid a shortage of skilled workers should eventually lead to an acceleration in wages.

One calendar quirk that may have depressed wage gains in May was that the 15th of the month — when workers who are paid semi-monthly get their checks — fell on the Monday after the survey week, which includes the 12th. This has distorted the wage readings in the past.

Other Details

Participation rate, or share of working-age people in the labor force, decreased to 62.7 percent from 62.9 percent

The U-6 or underemployment rate fell to 8.4 percent, lowest since November 2007, from 8.6 percent; rate includes part-time workers who’d prefer a full-time position and people who want a job but aren’t actively looking

The measure known as part-time for economic reasons fell by 53,000 people to 5.22 million

Private employment rose by 147,000 (forecast was 175,000) after a 173,000 increase; government payrolls fell by 9,000

Factory payrolls fell by 1,000, construction was up 11,000; retail payrolls declined 6,100, the fourth straight drop; and leisure and hospitality employment rose by 31,000

Average work week for all workers unchanged at 34.4 hours (forecast was 34.4 hours)

Bloomberg

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Bio
Twitter
Google+
Latest Posts

Dean Popplewell

Vice-President of Market Analysis at MarketPulse

Dean Popplewell has nearly two decades of experience trading currencies and fixed income instruments.
He has a deep understanding of market fundamentals and the impact of global events on capital markets.
He is respected among professional traders for his skilled analysis and career history as global head
of trading for firms such as Scotia Capital and BMO Nesbitt Burns. Since joining OANDA in 2006, Dean
has played an instrumental role in driving awareness of the forex market as an emerging asset class
for retail investors, as well as providing expert counsel to a number of internal teams on how to best
serve clients and industry stakeholders.