There was another round of somewhat positive unemployment data on Friday. The U.S. release was tepid but juxtaposed with the Canada data it would seem robust. The Canadian jobs number was dismal on its face as 213,000 jobs were lost and the unemployment rate jumped to 9.4% from 8.6%, although a slight increase was expected (around 8.9%). The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 6.3% from 6.7% with a slight gain in nonfarm payroll of 49,000, although much of that was in public sector employment. Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% but of greater interest was the increase in average hours worked, which reached a highest in history according to the Liscio report at 35 hours.
Posts Tagged ‘30-year Treasury bond’
Notes From Underground: At the Fed, Jobs is Priority Number One
February 7, 2021Notes From Underground: Return of the Bond Vigilantes?
December 6, 2020After the performance of the 30-year yield on Friday, we must ask this question. The overall release was on the weak side as jobs created were far less than expected, even though the RATE dropped to 6.7% and average hourly earnings increased by 0.3%, higher than forecasted. The AHE are difficult to measure as it can reflect lower wage earners being left out of the job market, as well as bonuses paid out to middle- and upper-level management.