Fed still on track to hike rates despite limp job growth

The US Federal Reserve is still on track to hike rates in June, despite Friday’s data showing a slowdown in job growth throughout March.

Fed still on track to hike rates despite limp job growth

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Economists remained upbeat on the prospects for the US even after the Bureau for Labor Statistics revealed there were 38,000 fewer additional people in work in January and February than first thought.

The US nonfarm pay data also showed that employment rose by 98,000 in March, signalling slower growth than February where it grew by 219,000 and January when employment rose 216,000.

However, with unemployment dropping to 4.5% and a steady labour participation rate, the overall expectations have remained positive for the US economy.

Ian Kernohan, an economist at Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), said: “The Federal Reserve puts much more weight on labour market data than on any other information, including volatile and often misleading early estimates for GDP.

“With quite a lot of data to come over the next couple of months, the Fed is still on track to raise interest rates again on 14 June, assuming that the result of French presidential election does not rock financial markets on fears of euro break-up.”