US NFP report, scheduled for 12:30 pm GMT, was a key macro release of the day. Data was expected to show an 180k jobs gain as well as deceleration in annual wage growth. While expectations pointed to a weaker job creation than in September, 180k would still be an above-average reading. However, other US jobs market releases, like services ISM employment subindex or ADP report, suggested that the US labor market may be cooling.
Actual report showed weaker jobs growth than expected as well as an unexpected pick-up in the unemployment rate from 3.8% to 3.9%. Wage growth surprised to the upside with annual dynamic slowing from 4.2 to 4.1% YoY, instead of 4.0% YoY expected.
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- Non-farm payrolls: 150k vs 180k expected (336k previously)
- Private payrolls: 99k vs 150k expected (263k previously)
- Unemployment rate: 3.9% vs 3.8% expected (3.8% previously)
- Wage growth (monthly): 0.2% MoM vs 0.3% MoM expected (0.2% MoM previously)
- Wage growth (annual): 4.1% YoY vs 4.0% YoY expected (4.2% YoY previously)
Data can be seen as dovish. While wage growth surprised to the upside, it continues to decelerate. A miss in headline jobs data seems to be what the market is focusing on. USD dropped in the aftermath of data release while indices moved higher.
EURUSD surged following a dovish NFP report with the pair painting a fresh daily high just a touch below 1.07 mark. Source: xStation5
