US jobs growth beats forecast but wage growth slows - as it happened
The non-farm payrolls showed 196,000 jobs were created in March, but wage growth slowed to 3.2% and manufacturing jobs fell unexpectedly
- 196,000 payrolls in March, beating expectations
- US manufacturing jobs fall by 6,000
- UK house prices fall 1.6% in March - Halifax
- Carlos Ghosn vows to fight to 'the bitter end'
2.58pm BST
The main event of the day was the closely watched US non-farm payrolls report for March.
It attracted even greater scrutiny than usual after a shockingly weak report in February.
2.33pm BST
US markets are up after the opening bell, boosted by the stronger than expected non-farm payrolls report.
2.31pm BST
Over in Greece, tensions with its eurozone partners eased on Friday as the country took stock of almost a1bn in long-awaited aid.
The nation at the epicentre of Europe's long-running economic crisis was told the money would be forthcoming at a crucial meeting of eurozone finance ministers meeting in Bucharest this morning.
2.27pm BST
There is a sense of relief after the headline non-farms number for March was better than expected, following February's shocker.
James Knightley, chief international economist at ING:
After a poor start to the year, some better news has started to come through including today's US jobs report. Payrolls growth has been very choppy recently, possibly due to the government shutdown and weather, with January's 311,000 increase followed by a poor (but upwardly revised) February figure of 33,000. We seem to be back on track with a 196,000 gain for March, above the 177,000 consensus.
The outlook for the US economy remains strong relative to slowing global growth. Job numbers today have surpassed expectations and wage growth is on the rise. We continue to believe that wages will gradually increase, even if hiring slows.
However, we have seen a continued slowdown in the first quarter and, as the Fed is now forecasting no rate hikes in 2019, investors should not become complacent to the binary risks of a sharper slowdown in growth, or a flare up of inflation due to the tight labour market.
2.14pm BST
Here is our full story on the March non-farm payrolls report:
Related: US jobs report: March bounces back with 196,000 jobs added
2.05pm BST
The non-farm payrolls report showed manufacturing jobs fell by 6,000 in March, which was a big miss compared with expectations of a 10,000 increase.
Dominic Rushe, business editor for Guardian US writes:
1.41pm BST
The headline jobs figure of 196,000 was better than expected but annual wage growth fell unexpectedly to 3.2% in March from 3.4% in February.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%, as expected.
Stock futures are higher on solid jobs report https://t.co/KxUdqXC37A pic.twitter.com/GERR2KfTto
1.32pm BST
Breaking: US non-farm payrolls are in and the headline number is 196,000.
This is better than the 180,000 expected and a sharp increase on February's figure of 33,000, which was revised up from 20,000.
1.22pm BST
With less than 10 minutes to non-farm payrolls, here is what economists polled by Reuters are expecting for the headline figures for March:
12.54pm BST
Norway's sovereign wealth fund - the world's largest - is cutting emerging market bonds from the benchmark index it tracks.
The finance ministry said it will remove government and corporate bonds issued by Chile, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Korea and Thailand.
Along with certain adjustments to the country weightings for government bonds, the changes proposed will facilitate lower transaction costs in the management of the Fund.
Norway's $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund is reducing its allocation to emerging markets bonds & currencies. https://t.co/eHyo7ehAm1
12.37pm BST
The Co-op has stopped selling single kitchen knives in its supermarkets in response to the increase in knife crime.
Read the full story here:
Related: Co-op curbs sale of knives in response to rising crime
11.56am BST
Markets are failing to get motivated this morning according to Connor Campbell at Spreadex, despite a backdrop of key events:
Given it's a Brexit-baking, US-China trade talking, non-farm Friday the markets were remarkably muted as the morning went on.
The FTSE, at an effective 6-month high already, had little justification for anything bigger than a 0.1% increase, a move that keeps its above 7400 but only marginally.
11.49am BST
A reminder that a Brexit Flextension is not a foregone conclusion:
European commission on flextension. "We saw this notion, this term," Commission spokesman says. "The only game in town is the European council, which will start Wednesday at 6pm."
11.20am BST
John McDonnell, shadow chancellor, has responded to the weak productivity figures:
We have a productivity crisis on our hands and this government is in denial about it.
For all the chancellor's talk of a 'productivity agenda', productivity continues to stagnate and is 18% below its pre-crisis trend.
10.39am BST
UK productivity is still lagging behind the pre-crisis trend more than a decade ago, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Output per hour fell 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared with the same period a year ago, and was 18% below its pre-downturn trend.
Our latest figures show a continuation of a decade of weak growth, often referred to as the 'productivity puzzle', with labour productivity growth lower over the last decade than at any time in the 20th century. It has taken the UK a decade to deliver 2% growth, which historically was achieved in a single year.
This affects both the public and private sectors, although one bright spot is healthcare, with more planned procedures taking place than usual through the winter, improving productivity across public services compared with the previous quarter.
10.16am BST
Stephen Hubble, chief analyst at currency firm Centtrip, says we could be in for a few surprises when the US non-farm payrolls report is published this afternoon:
Today's non-farm payroll and wages data will be watched closely as last time the number missed expectations substantially. Only 20,000 new jobs were added versus the 180,000 forecast, with a "hangover" from the longest-in-history US government shutdown last December and January blamed for the lapse.
If today's release comes close to the forecast of 190,000 for March, market participants will breathe a sigh of relief. The ADP National Employment Report released on Wednesday, a precursor to NFP, came in much weaker than expected at 129,000 as opposed to the forecast of 170,000. I would think surprises could be in store.
9.47am BST
Jasper Jolly reports:
The chairman of Swedbank resigned on Friday morning, bowing to intense pressure after a money laundering scandal was revealed at the Swedish lender.
I have concluded that the media attention is not compatible with my CEO role at Sidra. Therefore, I have decided that the best alternative is to leave the position as Chair of Swedbank with immediate effect.
9.37am BST
Hours before Carlos Ghosn was re-arrested in Japan on Thursday, he struck a resilient tone in an interview with French television.
I have doubts over the way the judgment will take place. If there is a fair ruling, I am very confident but if it is not fair, I am worried about what will happen.
I wouldn't wish what I have suffered on my worst enemy.
Related: Carlos Ghosn to fight to 'bitter end' as ex-Nissan chairman detained for 10 days
9.19am BST
European markets are subdued this morning ahead of the US non-farm payrolls report:
9.09am BST
Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, says the March fall in UK house prices reported by Halifax comes as no surprise given all the Brexit "shenanigans":
March has been dominated by Brexit so the monthly fall in property prices comes as no surprise. For the past couple of years March was flagged up as the date when we would get Brexit and people have been too busy watching the political shenanigans on television to go out and view houses.
The Brexit saga is such a debacle and until it gets sorted, one way or another, few people are going to do anything. There are fewer enquiries out there and fewer people want to sell. Less stock means values will go down - those selling are those who have to sell and may therefore take a lower price. Those who are brave enough to buy believe nothing is going to change in the future so they are going to take advantage of the uncertainty.
9.02am BST
The pound is up against both the euro and the dollar this morning, supported by expectations that the EU will offer Theresa May a one-year "flexible" extension to Article 50.
The pound is up 0.1% against both the euro and the dollar at a1.1660 and $1.3096 respectively. So not exactly major moves but in positive territory (for now at least).
Related: Brexit: Donald Tusk will tell EU to back 'flextension' for UK
8.54am BST
The orange line in the graphic below shows how varied the monthly Halifax data has been:
8.52am BST
Howard Archer, chief economist to EY's forecasting group, makes the point that the Halifax survey has been erratic:
#Halifax report #UK #house prices fell back 1.6% m/m in March after frankly bizarre reported 6.0% m/m spike in Feb. Index has been erratic and much stronger overall than other measures in recent months. Annual increase up to 3.2% in 3 months to March (2.8% in 3 months to Feb)
8.46am BST
UK house prices fell 1.6% in March according to the mortgage lender Halifax, taking the average price of a home to 233,181.
The average UK house price is now 233,181 following a 1.6% monthly fall in March. This reduction partly corrects the significant growth seen last month and again demonstrates the risk in focusing too heavily on short-term, volatile measures.
Industry-wide figures show that the number of mortgages being approved remains around 40% below pre- financial crisis levels, and we know that lower levels of activity can lead to bigger price movements.
8.25am BST
David Madden at CMC Markets, says that the weak non-farm payrolls report for February could be either be a sign of weakness in the US economy or a tightening of the jobs market, which means employers need to offer higher wages to fill vacancies.
It is the wages component of the jobs report that is becoming more crucial, Madden says:
The earnings component of the report has become more important lately as US workers who earn more, are more likely to spend more. Also, a high earnings number could be construed that the labour market is tight, and that employers need to offer higher wages in order to attract staff.
8.03am BST
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
All eyes will be focused on the monthly US non-farm payrolls report, which will provide the latest snapshot of the health of the jobs market and wider economy.
A strong headline figure and solid wage growth will give investors a good distraction from economic slowdown fears. However, the fact is that the economy could be slowing, whilst the US labour market remains strong. This is because employment is a lagging indicator.