Canadian unemployment breaks
There's been plenty of evidence of a softening labor market in the US, including an increase in tech layoffs and rising initial jobless claims, for example.
Yet the Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to report figures surprising to the upside, with the March nonfarm payrolls data showing a very solid increase of +303,000, well ahead of market expectations.
There were also some small upwards revisions to previous months.
The unemployment rate is off the lows and arguably trending higher, but still remained below 4 per cent for the 26th month in a row, the longest such streak in my lifetime.
Average hourly earnings increased +0.3 per cent over the month to be +4.1 per cent higher over the year (down from +4.3 per cent in the previous month).
Jimmy Foster charted the figures here, which shows that the year-on-year growth has continued to slow from +6 per cent toward +4 per cent.
The final graph bodes well for the desired 'soft landing' scenario, but with strong hiring there's no urgency to deliver interest rate cuts here.
Markets are now only pricing a June interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve as an each-way bet, with a cut not fully priced in until September.
One cautionary note came out of Canada, however, where the unemployment rate has suddenly soared alarmingly to 6.1 per cent.
Like Canada, Australia is also increasing its population at an unprecedented rate into a softening economy, and without warning we may also see a rapid deterioration in the unemployment figures.
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The AFR reported that insurance premiums are up 56 per cent, while this CBA graphic also shows the massive increase in homebuilding costs.
This hasn't been the worst of it, though, over the past decade or two!
Who can remember when a packet of smokes cost under $10?
The safest financial advice you'll get all week is try to kick the smoking habit if you can...it will cost you around $15,000 a year otherwise at today's heavily taxed prices.
Source: Reddit screenshot
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