• Toby Sturgeon, Global Head of Fiduciary Investment Services at ZEDRA


• 04.02.2022 02:45 pm
#payments

Commenting on a colossal increase in US Non-farm Payrolls, Toby Sturgeon, Global Head of Fiduciary Investment Services at ZEDRA, said: "“Non-farm payrolls increased by a jaw dropping 467,000 in January increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by 50bps in March. The US Dollar surged following the jobs report pushing Equity futures towards session lows. Whilst the consensus was for a gain of 125,000-150,000 jobs, many were less optimistic, forecasting significant drops in payrolls. Most of the pessimists cited the impact of the omicron surge as the primary factor and that it would be temporary however. The range of estimates (from -400,000 to +385,000) illustrated the uncertainty from economists following the disappointing 199,000 number of jobs created in December when economists expected 400,000. That number was revised to 510,000 and the January number exceeded that of even the most optimistic commentator. The labour market is still in very good shape, demand for labour is strong with solid wage increases, fewer workers available and near-record vacancies. In the lead up to the announcement the White House had been trying to calm expectations for the report or prepare them for bad news. It is difficult to understand why given the numbers released.”