The first reading of Q2 Non-farm payrolls surpassed even the most bullish forecasts, registering overall job gains of 263K. In addition to the expected kicker from census worker hires, private private payrolls also added 263K workers, well above the Bloomberg consensus of 188K.
With the exception of retail, which shed 12K jobs, gains were broad-based. Construction added 33K, above the run rate of the prior few months. The jobless rate of 3.6% represents a 49 year low.
Average hourly earnings, the number most watched for labor market inflation, was just 0.2.
Non-farm payrolls update: Hispanic unemployment is down from 4.7% to 4.2%, the lowest since April 2017.
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