US Nonfarm Payrolls Sky-Rocket in July, Unemployment Stays Flat

Job figures for July exceeded all expectations after the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its jobs data on Friday. Payrolls rose by 255,000, surpassing expectations of 180,000 but falling short of June’s job growth of 292,000. More positive indications arrived on Friday with increasing average hourly earnings also reported. Average hourly earnings measures the change in the price businesses pay for labor that does not include the agricultural sector. The earnings index rose 0.30% during the month, beating forecasts of a 0.20% increase.

 

 

The pace of purchasing activity in Canada continued its growth during July as measures of employment and inventories boomed, according to Ivey Purchasing Index data released on Friday. The seasonally adjusted index soared to 57.00 from 51.70 in June, shattering experts’ expectations for a reading of 50.90. As a reading above 50.00 indicates expansion, the Canadian dollar fared well against the greenback following the announcement. The USDCAD pair finished the day at 1.3162, a -0.06% change in favor of the Loonie. The Canadian dollar has had a rocky 2016 after immense losses in oil weighed heavily on the currency before it was able to rebound. A string of bullish data coming from Canada is a positive step for normalization of the economy and greater strength in the currency.