The Employment Situation -- February 2024

While the NFP figure initially caused the knee-jerk reaction in favor of the US dollar, that quickly reversed as average hourly earnings was digested. A dovish sign in terms of inflation and that's where all the focus remains.

Key takeaways:

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 275,000 in February, indicating positive job growth. Here's where the gains stood out most:- Healthcare employment continued to grow, adding 67,000 jobs.- Government employment increased by 52,000 jobs.- Food services and drinking places added 42,200 jobs.- Transportation and warehousing jobs rose significantly, by 20,000 jobs.

Average hourly earnings for all employees slightly increased by 5 cents to $34.57 (0.1% vs 0.2% forecast), and last month's was revised lower. This suggests wage growth, albeit modest, and this is what's hitting the US dollar.

3.9% unemployment rate suggests the number of people actively looking for work also increased.

Household Survey Data showed the number of unemployed individuals rose by 334,000 to 6.5 million. There was also a notable increase in permanent job losers and individuals on temporary layoff.

Long-term unemployed individuals (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) accounted for 18.7% of the unemployed.

The employment figures for December and January were revised down, suggesting that previous reports were somewhat overestimated.