US earnings growth moderates (Goldilocks)

Goldilocks gains

Nonfarm payroll employment increased +196,000 in March 2019 in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Moderate upwards revisions to January and February totalling +14,000 helped to hold the 3-month average employment gains at above +180,000. 

The record of 102 consecutive monthly gains has remained intact, despite the shutdown earlier in the year. 

The unemployment rate held steady at 3.8 per cent, and now appears to have hit the cyclical low.

Average hourly earnings increased by only 4 cents, which moderated annual earnings growth from +3.4 per cent to +3.2 per cent. 

Many readers of this blog are interested more in the implications for Australia, and on this front the news is good.

With the unemployment rate flattening out and earnings growth moderating there are few signs of an overheating US economy, and financial markets now see interest rates potentially heading lower. 

A Goldilocks result, here: not too hot, but not too cold either.