• Non-farm payrolls report showed 313,000 growth in February

• The unemployment rate unchanged at 17-year low of 4.1%

• Wages rose only 0.1% mom, taking the annual rate back down to 2.6%

• No game-changer for the Fed

The US added 313,000 new jobs in February, the biggest gain in a year and a half and clear evidence that a strong economy has plenty of room to run. The increase in hiring easily blew past the 205,000 consensus forecast. Job gains in January and December were also much stronger than initially reported with the economy added 54,000 more jobs in January and December than previously reported. January’s initially reported 200,000 figures were revised up to 239,000. December’s was also revised up, from 160,000 to 175,000, placing the 3-month average now at 242,000.

Warmer weather helped to boost hiring almost across the board in February after a harsh spell in January briefly kept thousands of people at home. Construction companies hired 61,000 people to mark the biggest increase in 11 years. Retailers added 50,000 jobs, as did professional-oriented businesses while manufacturers filled 31,000 positions.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% as increased numbers of new workers entered the labor force. The labor force participation rate rose to 63.0% in February, re-attaining its post recession peak. Overall participation in the labor force has been fairly steady since early 2016, but that hides an encouraging upward trend for core-age workers (25-54 years), which is being offset by the large cohort of baby boomers entering retirement.

All eyes were on wage growth, which rose by only 0.1% mom, lower than both the expected 0.2% and the previous month’s 0.3%. Annualized, that came out to 2.6%, a slight deceleration from 2.8% in January. Still, wages have advanced at a 3.0% annualized pace over the past three months.

Source: BIMB Securities Research - 12 Mar 2018