Non-Farm Payrolls: 242K but wages fall

The US  economy gained 242K jobs in February, better than expected and with  upwards revisions worth 30K. However. wages dropped 0.1% m/m and rose only 2.2% y/y, worse than expected. Broader measures were positive: a rise in the participation rate and a fall in the “real unemployment rate”.

The US dollar enjoyed the move at first, but then dropped. The battle for the close of the week continues. You can see here the live coverage and the live blog of the event as it  happened.

The US was expected to gain around 190K jobs in February, following 151K in January (before revisions). Wages carried expectations for +0.2% m/m after 0.5% beforehand and 2.5% y/y.

The US dollar was clearly on the back foot before the release.

Data (updated)

• Non-Farm Payrolls:  242K  (exp. +195K, last 151K before revisions)
• Average Hourly Earnings:-0.1%, 2.2% y/y  (exp. +0.2% m/m, last month 0.5% m/m, 2.5% y/y)
• Revisions: +30K  (-2K last time)
• Participation Rate: 62.9%  (62.7% last month )
• Unemployment Rate:  4.9%    (exp.4.9%,  last month 4.9% before revisions)
• Private Sector: 230K(ADP showed a nice 214K).
• Real Unemployment Rate (U-6): 9.7%    (previous: 9.9%).
• Employment to population ratio: 59.8%    (previous: 59.6%)
• Average  workweek: 34.4  (last month: 34.6).

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