The US debt ceiling may be a major cause of concern right now but there was a bright spot on the horizon for the world’s largest economy today.
The most recent figures show that the US labour market has remained stable despite the past few months of uncertainty regarding the fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.
According to statistics compiled by the Labour Department, payrolls in November increased by 161,000 (more than previously estimated) while in December payrolls advanced by 155,000 – 3,000 higher than forecast by economists.
The report also showed that last month the unemployment rate stayed at the four-year low of 7.8 while average hourly earnings were up 2.1 per cent from the same period in 2011.
Factory payrolls gained 25,000 – the most for nine months, 30,000 more workers were employed by construction companies and employment at private service providers grew by 109,000.
Although private payrolls were predicted to increase by 155,000 the actual gain in December was of 168,000.
Meanwhile there were 11,300 less workers in the retail sector and government payrolls fell for a third consecutive month, shedding 13,000.
One senior economist with New York based Societe Generale commented: ‘The labour market continues to recover. The pace of hiring is respectable, and the unemployment rate will gradually keep coming down. With the fiscal cliff having been averted, this should be good for job growth. The labour market will continue to make progress this year.’
As of 14:20 pm
The Pound to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 1.2293
The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.6041
The Pound to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.5342
The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.3047
The Euro to Pound exchange rate is currently trading at 0.8132
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