Will The Employment Report Be The Tipping Point For Equities?

By Parsimony Investment Research:Since the housing market peaked over 5 years ago, investors have been longing for any signs of a recovery. However, the housing situation in the U.S. still remains relatively bleak and investors received two more negative reports to digest last week.

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers stepped up hiring in February, pushing the unemployment rate to a four year-low and suggesting the economy has enough momentum to withstand the blow from higher taxes and deep government spending cuts. Nonfarm payrolls surged 236,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said on Friday, handily beating economists’ expectations for a gain of 160,000. The jobless rate fell to 7.7%, the lowest since December 2008, from 7.9% in January. The decline reflected gains in employment as well as people leaving the labor force.

ADP job estimates have been on the high side of BLS estimates for months, and I expect that to be the case again this Friday. Please consider some snips from the July 2012 ADP National Employment Report® Employment in the U.S. nonfarm private business sector increased by 163,000 from June to July, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The estimated gain from May to June was revised down slightly,from the initial estimate of 176,000 to 172,000.

WASHINGTON — A private survey shows U.S. businesses increased hiring in January compared with a revised December reading. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that employers added 192,000 jobs in January. That is more than December’s revised number of 185,000, which had initially been reported at 215,000. The ADP report is derived from actual payroll data and tracks total nonfarm private employment each month. The increase in hiring occurred after Congress and the Obama administration reached an agreement on Jan.

WASHINGTON — A private survey shows U.S. businesses increased hiring in January compared with a revised December reading. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that employers added 192,000 jobs in January. That is more than December’s revised number of 185,000, which had initially been reported at 215,000. The ADP report is derived from actual payroll data and tracks total nonfarm private employment each month. The increase in hiring occurred after Congress and the Obama administration reached an agreement on Jan.

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised from +203,000 to +223,000, and the change for January was revised from +243,000 to +284,000. Which brings the total new jobs for this report to 286,000 (227+20+39). This is very good news.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 151,000 in October, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.6%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Since December 2009, nonfarm payroll employment has risen by 874,000. The BLS also increased previous estimates by 110,000 jobs in adjustments to August and September. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised from -57,000 to -1,000, and the change for September was revised from -95,000 to -41,000.