Shares opened higher on Friday after the government’s employment report showed fewer jobs were cut in February than expected.
The Labor Department’s monthly report is widely seen as the most important economic indicator because employment is considered a crucial ingredient for a strong, sustained recovery.
Employers cut 36,000 jobs last month, better than forecasts of as much as 68,000 cuts. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent; economists were expecting it to rise to 9.8 percent.
In Europe, markets rose after a successful bond sale by debt-burdened Greece and the release of the American jobs report. Budget and debt problems in Greece have dogged the markets in recent months.
The higher open on top of a late-day rally in stocks Thursday indicates that investors are optimistic the United States economy is improving. Though employers are not yet adding staff full-time, jobs growth is fundamental to a recovery because it puts money in more workers pockets, allowing them to increase spending. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity.
In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was 74.90 points, or 0.72 percent, higher. Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose 9.69 points, or 0.86 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 21.32 points, or 0.93 percent.
In London, the FTSE 100 rose 1.3 percent, the DAX in Frankfurt gained 1.1 percent, and the CAC-40 in Paris rose 1.8 percent. In Tokyo, Nikkei stock average surged 2.2 percent.
Signs of future jobs growth were encouraging in the report. Temporary workers, which are often seen as a precursor to employers adding full-time staff, rose 48,000 last month. Average hourly earnings rose by 3 cents to $22.46.
The Labor Department did not quantify if severe snowstorms that pummeled the East Coast last month had any impact on the report. Economists estimated before the report that the storms could inflate job losses by 100,000 or more.
Major indexes advanced Thursday, thanks to a late-day rally heading into the monthly jobs report. Other economic reports continued to paint a mixed picture for the economy.
Retailers reported surprisingly strong retail sales for February, led by companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, Nordstrom and the Target Corporation. Wal-Mart Stores raised its dividend 11 percent.
Meanwhile, bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.66 percent from 3.61 percent late Thursday.
The dollar rose against other major currencies after the jobs report. Gold fell slightly.
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Seems like the economy is beginning to see the upside of things. The one thing that still is pretty high, especially in some areas of the country, is the unemployment rate. Like mentioned above, job growth is fundamental to recovery because income puts money in consumers pockets. More people that have jobs, the more economic transitions that will take place. (A)
ReplyDeleteThis is an optimistic article. What really interests me about it, however, is how it shows the relationship between the economies of the world. We truly have a WORLD economy, and I think that often times we forget that and only focus on our own "economic crisis," when really, the effect is seen all over the globe. When Greece struggles, many struggle. When the U.S. does better, other countries do better.
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Finally a bit of optimism. However, the economy is really still a "mixed picture". We're still hurting, just not as much as we THOUGHT we would be. It'll be interesting to see the results for March. The stats from around the world are reassuring however. It really is a global economy, that much is clear
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This article bring back hope; hope that many people will continue to get their jobs back, hope that many people can bring a paycheck home and feed their families. Although the numbers are positive and many people say that our economy is begin to take that positive turn, the data is for this past month, we need to keep a close look on the numbers for any chances. Also what surprised me was that the positive data is not only for the US but for different parts of the world. E.A
ReplyDeleteThis article is a representation of the American economy now. By that I mean hopeful, encouraging, and it shows real signs of rejuvenation. However they is a long way to go. I find it great that the economy is improving, but celebrating because the US didn't lose as many jobs as predicted is a bit to ridiculous for me. The unemployment rate is still 9.7%! I also found it interesting that I little country like Greece could hold down markets so much just because it would devastate the Euro if it were to go bankrupt. Furthermore, unemployment is still high, and our financial system is still fragile at best. However, this news is encouraging, as it is showing life in our economy again, and it leading the way to better things. A
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