(Reuters) – U.S. job growth accelerated in February, but a rise in the unemployment rate and moderation in wage gains kept on the table an anticipated interest rate cut in June from the Federal Reserve.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 275,000 jobs last month, the labor Department said on Friday. Data for January was revised down to show 229,000 jobs created instead of 353,000 as previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 200,000 jobs added.
MARKET REACTION:
STOCKS: pared a slight loss to rise 0.2%, still pointing to a steady opening on Wall StreetBONDS: The U.S. Treasury 10-year yield ticked higher then fell to 4.038; Two-year yields fell to 4.421% FOREX: The extended 0.35% lower
COMMENTS:
ROBERT PAVLIK, SENIOR PORTFOLIO MANAGER, DAKOTA WEALTH, FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT
“The immediate takeaway is the focus on the unemployment rate going from 3.7% to 3.9%. More unemployment rate implies that the economy is slowing, which would, in the markets’ view hopefully, necessitate a rate cut sooner rather than later. The figures revised downwards along with the unemployment rate is probably fueling a little bit of a rebound in the futures.”
PAUL NOLTE, SENIOR WEALTH ADVISER, MURPHY & SYLVEST, CHICAGO”The key here is the wage growth than anything else, which came in very modest and well below expectations. This feeds more into the inflation narrative than the strong jobs data. However, the job market data still shows a relatively strong labor force.
I don’t think the data really means much to the Fed. They’re much more focused on the inflation data and the fact that wage growth was modest is helpful, but that’s the only part of the jobs data that I think the Fed is looking at.”
PETER CARDILLO, CHIEF MARKET ECONOMIST, SPARTAN CAPITAL SECURITIES, NEW YORK
“The bottom line is this was a little bit hotter than we were looking for in terms of nonfarms and hourly wages as well, but if you look at the revisions, I think that is basically pointing to a less robust outlook going forward. That’s probably why we’re seeing the markets not negatively reacting.”
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