The US gained 227K jobs in February. January’s number was significantly revised to the upside.The unemployment rate is 8.3%. This is a bit better than expected. This lowers the chance of QE3 in the upcoming meeting on Tuesday.
Early expectations stood on a gain of around 200K in the non-farm employment change and an unemployment rate of 8.3%.
EUR/USD made an initial gain but turned back quickly and is now falling to 1.3175. Support is at 1.3150. Update: After a short struggle, 1.3150 has been breached.
USD/JPY is on the rise, piercing through 82 and aiming for the 82.20 resistance line.
Strong revisions
In January, the initial report showed an impressive gain of 243K and a drop of the unemployment rate to 8.3%. January’s Non-Farm Payrolls were revised upwards, to 284K – this is a huge gain and adds to the positive sentiment regarding the US economy.
December’s numbers were revised from 203K to 223K. The total of these revisions is 61K. Add that to the February’s number and you get a gain of almost 300K.
The “real unemployment rate” , dropped to 14.9%. This figure includes people who are too discouraged to search for a job. It stood on 15.1% last time.
Good results even without good weather
Some critics said that the good weather in January and February helped the economy, especially when looking at the numbers that are not seasonally adjusted.
Also in the non-adjusted numbers, the regular U-3 unemployment rate slid from January to February by 0.1% to 8.7%. The unadjusted number for the U-6 figure fell significantly from 16.2% to 15.6%.
Also in the US, the trade balance deficit widened to 52.6 billion, worse than around 49 billion. Average Hourly Earnings rose by 0.1%, weaker than 0.2% that was predicted.
Private sector job gains stood on 233K, with the government laying off only 6K.
— Updates coming
The employment component of the services sector PMI (ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI) slid in February, but remained in growth territory. The report for the private sector by ADP showed an impressive gain of 216K.
Earlier today, Greece announced a high participation rate in the PSI of 85.8% or 95.7% after activating CACs.
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