Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP); Unemployment FYIs
Volatility in major commodity futures remained high as the crisis in the Mideast expanded into a wider international crisis today after NATO air defenses shot down an Iranian ballistic missile headed toward Turkey, the United States sank an Iranian navy ship in international waters, and several European nations deployed military assets to the region to protect their interests.
Stock index futures advanced today with the E-mini Nasdaq leading the way as U.S. futures markets appeared to set aside some of their fears over the Middle East conflict.
This week’s run-up in crude oil futures oil prices paused, with West Texas Intermediate turning slightly higher and stabilized around $75 a barrel in afternoon trading.
More General:
Private sector hiring was a bit better than expected in February. The payrolls processing firm ADP reported today that companies added a seasonally adjusted 63,000 workers during the month, an improvement from the downwardly revised 11,000 in January and better than the consensus estimate for 48,000.
The issue of breadth continued to be a problem for the labor market.
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Education and health services added 58,000 jobs for the month, easily leading all sectors.
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In second place, construction contributed 19,000.
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Professional and business services saw a decline of 30,000 positions.
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Manufacturing lost 5,000, continuing a months-long decline.
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Trade, transportation and utilities were off 1,000.
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Other than a gain of 11,000 in information services, there was little movement elsewhere.
In short, two industries offset stagnant growth across most other sectors.
Up next, the Labor Dept. releases its monthly non-farm payrolls report this Friday.
It’s widely considered to be one of the most important and influential measures of the U.S. economy. The report is released at 7:30 A.M., Central Time. |
