Employment Situation
Today’s big news was the release of February’s Employment report that showed much stronger than expected results. It revealed a 6.2% unemployment rate, down from 6.3%. The most surprising number was the 379,000 new jobs added back to the economy when analysts were calling for 190,000. Furthermore, January’s payrolls were revised higher by 117,000, meaning the employment sector was much stronger than thought over the past two months. Average earnings rose 0.2%, matching expectations. Still, the payroll figures clearly make the report bad news for bonds and mortgage rates.