In this morning’s data, the economy added 266,000 jobs in April, much lower than the 1,000,000 expected. The Leisure and Hospitality industry was strong, adding 331,000 jobs, while the Transportation and Warehousing and sector was weak, with a -74,100 change. The Unemployment Rate increased one tenth to 6.1% partly due to people entering the labor force. Average Hourly Earnings increased 0.7% in April and is up only 0.3% on an annual basis. Average Weekly Hours increased one tenth to 35.0 in April. Overall a weak headline jobs number, compared to what was expected, giving the Federal Reserve some solace in sticking with their accommodative policy. While jobs that were lost in the pandemic are continuing to return, a deep hole remains from the jobs lost at the start of the pandemic. As the economy continues to improve, the desire of workers to return to the labor force and matching skills to the necessary jobs will be important factors for the recovery in the labor market. In all, bond yields decreased following the release of the employment report and equity futures are now mixed heading into the market open.
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