Non-Farm Payrolls Trump Unemployment for Market Blast Off

We have gotten the unemployment and jobs data for the month of May from the Labor Department, and the data is very mixed on unofficial numbers.  The report came in at 9.4% unemployment and the change in non-Farm Payrolls came in at -345,000.

Expectations varied.  We had 9.2% as the expected unemployment rate from all sources, but the change in non-Farm Payrolls consensus estimate was listed as -525,000 from Dow Jones and -530,000 from Bloomberg.

The April reading was originally shown as being 8.9% unemployment and the change in non-Farm Payrolls was originally listed as -539,000 jobs.  That was unrevised on 8.9%, but the new number was listed as a revised -504,000.

We have seen whispers nearing as low as -500,000 on the non-Farm Payrolls and some loose calls for 9.1% on the unemployment front after yesterday’s weekly jobless claims showed the first actual decline in continuing jobless claims since the first week of January.

Good-producing jobs lost 225,00 and service jobs lost 120,000 jobs.  Education and healthcare added 44,000 jobs, while the government actually lost 7,000 jobs.

Jon C. Ogg
June 5, 2009