[Foreign media...] US jobs data beats expectations for second month in a row

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx21664lp32o

The US economy created 115,000 jobs in April as businesses kept hiring 
despite the economic fallout from the US-Israel war in Iran.

The increase was stronger than expected, with the total almost twice as 
much as economists had forecast.

The data, published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), also 
showed the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to US and Israeli strikes 
on Iran has sparked a global energy shock, pushing up the price of 
gasoline for American consumers.

The latest figures come after months of big fluctuations in job numbers. 
Non-farm payrolls fell by 156,000 in February before rising by 185,000 in 
March.

April's solid employment figures added to expectations the Federal Reserve 
will keep interest rates on hold as it seeks to keep a lid on inflation.

Revisions to March and February's figures mean the number of jobs rose on 
average by 48,000 over the last three months.

That is in line with the so-called breakeven rate, the level of job 
creation at which new people entering the workforce can be absorbed.

The better-than-expected jobs figures helped to lift the major US stock 
indexes. The S&P 500 rose by 0.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 
closed flat.

Economists said the figures were encouraging, pointing to a particularly 
strong showing in the retail and transportation and warehousing sectors.

"Both give relatively positive signals about the health of discretionary 
spending, despite the hit to consumers' purchasing power from higher 
gasoline prices," said Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital 
Economics.

But he pointed to "mixed signals" elsewhere in the report, including slow 
wage growth and an overall contraction in the jobs market, with fewer 
working-age people seeking employment.

"All that being said, this was ultimately a positive employment report 
that reinforces the view that the labour market is stable and potentially 
even accelerating," he said.

But Samuel Tombs, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said job 
growth was likely to start to slow in the coming months.

He said recent survey data pointed to a slowdown in hiring and that the 
unemployment rate could rise from 4.3% to 4.7% by the end of the year, 
prompting the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates from 
December.

The White House said April's job figures were "another sign that the 
American economy remains on a solid trajectory under President Trump".

"Every leading indicator is pointed in the right direction, and Americans 
can rest assured that the best is yet to come," White House spokesman Kush 
Desai said.


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.

Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama 
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.