US: Outlook remains constructive for the jobs market

May 8th, 2011 | by linda smit |

The U.S. labour market continues to improve at a relatively brisk pace. Total payroll employment rose 244,000 in April on the back of a 268,000 gain in private-sector employment. As today’s Hot Chart shows, private payrolls have expanded by close to 800,000 in the past three months, the best showing since early 2006. Importantly, the gains were widespread with close to 65% of industries reporting an increase in headcounts. Job creation is of curse paramount in order to mitigate against the impact of a rising food & energy bill. In recent months, disposable income has been increasing at a $60 billion monthly clip, compared to a $25 billion monthly increase in food & energy spending. As shown, the outlook remains constructive U.S. labour markets. The Monster.com help-wanted index actually hit a cyclical high in April, pointing to further job creation in the months ahead. This development remains consistent with a pick-up in real GDP growth in Q2 which we peg in the 3.5%-to-4% range (a good omen for the Q2 earnings season).

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