The US gained 236K jobs in February, significantly above expectations. A good surprise also came from the unemployment rate that fell to 7.7%, better than no change at 7.9%. At first, expectations were for a gain of around +160K. Later on, a mix strong employment in the services sector, a strong ADP figure another drop in jobless claims pushed expectations to 192K. The US dollar is now surging across the board. EUR/USD traded at around 1.31, below the highs and is now 70 pips lower at 1.3030. USD/JPY continued its surge and is now breaking higher to 96.30. Updates: EUR/USD breaks below 1.30 – approaches double bottom level. GBP/USD at fresh multi year lows, dips below 1.49 The Aussie and kiwi also retreated, but didn’t break significant levels. Gold fell sharply. Only the Canadian dollar gained against the greenback, thanks to an excellent jobs report in Canada. The details Non-Farm Payrolls: +236K Participation Rate: 63.5% (63.6% last month) Unemployment Rate: 7.7% – this is the lowest since December 2008. Revisions: minor this time. A net of -15K. December was revised from +196,000 to 219,000, and the change for January was revised from +157,000 to +119,000. Last month saw revisions of +127K. Private Sector NFP: +246K (ADP showed +198K, above expectations) Real Unemployment Rate (U-6): 14.3% (previous: 14.4%) Employment to population ratio: 58.6% (previous: 58.6%) Average Hourly Earnings: +0.2%, as expected. A big gain in construction jobs is one of the reasons for the big job gain. Background The previous months have seen stable gains of 150K+ jobs. What was different last month is that we saw huge positive revisions to previous data: an additional 127K jobs on top of the 157K job gain. On the downside, there was some fear that the expiration of the payroll tax cut would be felt in February and would lower the result. On the other hand, the relatively late publication, on the 8th of the month, allowed data to pile up: ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI rose to 56 points, with a strong employment component of 57.2. ADP Non-Farm Payrolls rose by 198K, beyond expectations. And for a change, it contained an upwards revision of the previous month. And finally, jobless claims stood on 344K – around the “support line”. EUR/USD was on high ground after the positive ECB press conference, but seemed vulnerable. USD/JPY surged higher after breaking 95 in a move that seemed too strong and could lead to profit taking on USD/JPY, no matter the actual outcome. Yohay Elam Yohay Elam Yohay Elam: Founder, Writer and Editor I have been into forex trading for over 5 years, and I share the experience that I have and the knowledge that I've accumulated. After taking a short course about forex. Like many forex traders, I've earned a significant share of my knowledge the hard way. Macroeconomics, the impact of news on the ever-moving currency markets and trading psychology have always fascinated me. Before founding Forex Crunch, I've worked as a programmer in various hi-tech companies. I have a B. Sc. in Computer Science from Ben Gurion University. Given this background, forex software has a relatively bigger share in the posts. Yohay's Google Profile View All Post By Yohay Elam Forex News Today: Daily Trading News share Read Next Canada enjoys 50.7K job gains – superb outcome Yohay Elam 10 years The US gained 236K jobs in February, significantly above expectations. A good surprise also came from the unemployment rate that fell to 7.7%, better than no change at 7.9%. At first, expectations were for a gain of around +160K. Later on, a mix strong employment in the services sector, a strong ADP figure another drop in jobless claims pushed expectations to 192K. The US dollar is now surging across the board. EUR/USD traded at around 1.31, below the highs and is now 70 pips lower at 1.3030. USD/JPY continued its surge and is now breaking higher to 96.30. Updates: EUR/USD… Regulated Forex Brokers All Brokers Sponsored Brokers Broker Benefits Min Deposit Score Visit Broker 1 $100T&Cs Apply 0% Commission and No stamp DutyRegulated by US,UK & International StockCopy Successfull Traders 9.8 Visit Site FreeBets Reviews$100Your capital is at risk. 2 T&Cs Apply 9.8 Visit Site FreeBets Reviews$100Your capital is at risk. 3 Recommended Broker $100T&Cs Apply No deposit or withdrawal feesTrade major forex pairs such as EUR/USD with leverage up to 30:1 and tight spreads of 0.9 pips Low $100 minimum deposit to open a trading account 9 Visit Site FreeBets ReviewsYour capital is at risk. 4 T&Cs Apply Visit Site FreeBets ReviewsYour capital is at risk. 5 Recommended Broker $0T&Cs Apply Trade gold, silver, and platinum directly against major currenciesUp to 1:500 leverage for forex trading24/5 customer service by phone and email 9 Visit Site FreeBets ReviewsYour capital is at risk.