Chart of the Week: Positive signs from the US labour market

The US jobs report for February can be considered a welcome respite for investors grappling with concerns over slower growth, rising inflation and geopolitical tensions. Jobs growth was robust, as another 678k payrolls were added during the month; the headline unemployment rate declined but there were signs that workers were tempted back into the labour market, as the participation rate edged higher and so did the broader U6 unemployment rate; wage growth was flat on the month for all employees, and the annual pace of wage growth declined from 5.5% to 5.1%. Interestingly, wages for production and nonsupervisory employees grew 0.3% month on month and were 6.7% higher than in the same month the previous year. This may suggest that the labour market is hotter for those on lower incomes.

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