Norbolsa: The April employment report provided signs that the labour market is losing strength as job creation slowed in the month, below expectations (175,000 versus 240,000 against 303,000 previously revised downwards by 12,000) and the unemployment rate rebounded slightly (up 3.9% versus 3.8% year-on-year).
Additionally, pressure on wages continued to moderate (up 0.2% month-on-month versus 0.3% year-on-year; up 3.9% year-on-year versus 4.1% year-on-year), a welcome move by the FED in its attempt to take the pressure off the most core component of prices.
On the other hand, business activity showed signs of losing momentum heading into the second quarter, with the manufacturing sector registering a return to contraction (ISM 49.2 versus 50.3 previous), followed by the services sector registering a dip to contractionary levels for the first time since December 2022 (49.4 versus 55e against 53.4 previous).
