The U. S. labor market data on non-farm payrolls, which was eagerly awaited after the natural catastrophes, turned out to be much worse than expected. However, a sharp rise in hourly wages and the fall in the unemployment rate put the US dollar below the 1.17 euro mark.

Hurricanes affect U. S. Labor Market Data

After Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in September, the U. S. labor market figures were eagerly awaited on the financial markets. The figures published on Thursday on the initial jobless claims showed that, although the figures in the areas affected by natural disasters have risen significantly, they are still behind fears. The ADP Labour Market Report, which was published on Wednesday, was somewhat in line with expectations and even slightly higher than expected. However, the enormous differences in expectations revealed just how uncertain analysts were about the figures published today on non-farm payrolls. These ranged from a plus of 150.00 to a minus of 45,000 new or reduced jobs.

First negative U. S. labor market figures in 7 years

With the now published -33,000 jobs, a negative figure was achieved for the first time since October 2010. However, the U. S. Department of Labor reported 1.47 million people out of work as a direct result of the two hurricanes. On the other hand, the increase in average hourly wages in the USA turned out to be better than expected. The increase of 0.5% clearly exceeded the expected 0.3%, and the figures for the previous month were also revised upwards from 0.1% to 0.2%. The need for additional work due to the damage caused by natural catastrophes could play an important role in this increase. The decline in the unemployment rate from 4.4% to 4.2% is explained by the increase in the participation rate from 62.9% to 63.1%.

The US dollar responded positively to the labor market data. In an initial reaction, the euro fell to a daily low of 1.167, but fought against the EUR 1.17 mark in the further course of trading.

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