Here’s a breakdown of the biggest numbers in Friday’s nonfarm payroll report for April:
1. The good: The unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent during the month, the lowest level since December 2000, while black unemployment dropped to an all-time low 6.6 percent.
2. The bad: Total job creation of 164,000 and wage growth of 2.6 percent on a year-over-year both were below economist expectations.
3. The ugly: Another 410,000 folks dropped out of the workforce, bringing the total to 95.74 million — a big reason for the dropping headline unemployment rate.
4. More numbers: Professional and business services led job creation with 54,000, manufacturing and health care contributed 24,000 each and mining increased by 8,000.
5. Washington vs. Wall Street: The White House will focus on the jobless rate; investors will be more tuned into the low wage pressures, so the market’s expectations of two more interest rate hikes this year likely will be unchanged.
Breaking it down: AllianceBernstein senior economist Eric Winograd says: “The market impact of today’s number should be limited, but more positive than negative in my view.”
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