The BLS reported this morning,
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 252,000 in December, and the unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, construction, food services and drinking places, health care, and manufacturing.
…The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.6 hours in December. The manufacturing workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to 41.0 hours, and factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 3.6 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.9 hours.
In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 5 cents to $24.57, following an increase of 6 cents in November. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 1.7 percent. In December, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees decreased by 6 cents to $20.68.The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised from +243,000 to +261,000, and the change for November was revised from +321,000 to +353,000. With these revisions, employment gains in October and November were 50,000 higher than previously reported.
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On the day the eurozone officially dropped into deflation, John Authers looks at growing market worries about disinflation in the US. Will the oil price fall prove to be transitory?
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http://video.ft.com/Authers-Note
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After a year of doing nothing – up 2.46 percent in 2014 -, the homebuilders ETF (XHB) is breaking out.
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Over the holidays we were reviewing previous posts on QE and financial repression. Though posted almost 4 years ago, we thought this is very appropriate and timely to today’s macro climate.
One danger of the lack of price discovery [in the bond market caused by QE] is the potential formation of a positive feed-back loop, where other markets fail to discount these distortions and act accordingly. One prominent economic strategist recently stated, “ We’re in a depression. That is what the bond market is telling us.” Only time will tell, but decision makers would be well advised to at least partially discount the signal coming from the bond market.
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Global Macro Monitor 