Non-farm payrolls increased by 223k in April, just shy of expectations for a 228k gain. However, revisions to the previous two months subtracted 39k from the tally. The report was more or less a goldilocks one, healthy enough to assuage fears that an abrupt slowdown in the U.S. economy is upon us, but not strong enough to bring forward the Fed hike meaningfully.
The downward revisions to the previous months - with the March tally reported at just 85k now - can likely be chalked up to the transitory factors, while the near-consensus gain in April inspires confidence that the worst may be behind us.
On the whole, the report suggests that the labor market continued to improve in springtime after a temporary setback in March. At the same time, the lack of wage pressures suggests that it may yet have more room for improvement before these manifest.
"We believe the Fed will remain on the sidelines during their June meeting, but expect the FOMC to begin to raise rates later in the year as more labor market slack is absorbed." says TD Economics
