August non-farm payrolls 169K vs 180K expected
- Prior reading was 162K (revised to 104K!)
- Private payrolls 152K vs 180K expected
- Prior private payrolls was 161K (revised to 127K)
- Two-month net payrolls revision -74K
- Unemployment rate 7.3% vs 7.4% expected
- Participation rate 63.2% vs 63.4% exp
- Manufacturing payrolls 14K vs 5K exp
- Avg hourly earnings 2.2% vs +2.1% y/y exp
- U6 underemployment 13.7% vs 14.0% prior
The dollar got smoked on the release. The revisions are the story and mean the July report was the weakest in a year. The unemployment rate would have gone up if not for a 2-tick drop in the participation rate. The Fed is smart enough to see through that (I hope).
non farm payrolls
This is still strong enough for the Fed to taper, in my opinion, but it adds a bit more intrigue to the Sept 18 announcement.
