The latest report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the labor market lost 140,000 jobs in the past month. The market was looking for 60,000 jobs to be created, given that in November, 245,000 hit the market. This marks the first time since April, when the labor market reports job losses.
Along with the non-farm payrolls came the unemployment rate. The rate dropped to 6.7% in the past month, coming slightly ahead of the 6.8% consensus.
Today’s results follow those of the weekly unemployment claims published by the US Department of Labor. In the past week, it totaled 787,000, lower than the 832,000 expected. Although the numbers showed a decrease at the beginning of the year, they are still well above the pre-pandemic levels given the latest resurge in the COVID-19 infections.
Keep an eye on USA30, USA500, Gold, and Dollar to see how they reacted to these red-hot reports!
Sources: forexfactory.com, cnbc.com
