Unemployment dips to 3.4% and wages showed strong gains. Ironically good news these days is bad new for the stock market, because strong jobs & wage reports will ptobably trigger more rate hikes from the Fed US economy adds 253,000 jobs in April in sign of labour market strength Unemployment rate dips to 3.4 per cent while average hourly earnings post strong gains https://www.ft.com/content/de73044a-aac3-4383-95df-e0521e29d7c1 US jobs growth was stronger than expected in April, providing a reminder of the resilience of the US economy even as the Federal Reserve signalled it was “getting close” to pausing its cycle of interest rate hikes. The US added 253,000 non-farm jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, confounding expectations of a slowdown. However, the previous two months’ figures were revised sharply lower. The unemployment rate was also lower than expected at 3.4 per cent, compared to consensus forecasts of 3.6 per cent. Hourly wage growth strengthened to 0.5 per cent month-on-month. On a year-over-year basis, wages climbed 4.4 per cent. Wages are a key factor in inflation, particularly in the service sector, so economists and investors were closely monitoring the numbers for signs that higher interest rates are slowing the economy and bringing down inflation.
