US nonfarm payrolls rise well above expectations in April

US nonfarm payrolls increased by 115,000 jobs in April compared to an upwardly revised 185,000 advance in March and nearly doubled forecasts for payroll rising by 62,000.

The same report showed that unemployment remained unchanged at 4.3%, also in line with expectations and average earnings increased by 0.2% last month (vs 0.3% rise forecast and 0.2% in March) signaling that the labor market remains resilient and contributing to expectations that the US central bank would leave interest rates unchanged for some time.

Economists point to a choppy trend in payrolls results in past couple of months, with swings between gains and losses being driven by President Donald Trump’s administration crackdown on illegal immigration, as well as government job cuts, strikes and weather conditions that also contributed to big changes to the labor force.

They also say that the latest results still do not show effects from US/Israeli war with Iran which lifted oil prices and disrupted the main supply channel and raised cost of shipping of oil, as well as other commodities.