BLS Good not Great. Watch US$ v Euro.

BLS Employment Situation Report (February 2015)

– Nonfarm Payrolls month/month  295,000. Previous was +239,000
– Unemployment Rate   5.5%.  Previous was 5.7%
– Private Payrolls month/month  288,000. Previous was +237,000
– Participation Rate    62.8%. Previous was  62.9%
– Average Hourly Earnings month/month +0.1%. Previous was +0.5%
– Average Workweek  34.6 hours same as previous.

The Unemployment rate fell partly because more people were working but also because 178,000 left the Labor Force.  This report is good but it is not great.  We still have a declining Labor Participation rate.

 
Trade Deficit (January 2015)

– Trade Deficit $41.8 billion. Previous was $45.6 billion.

Imports and Exports are both part of GDP.  This drop is largely due to declining Crude Oil prices.  That decline may be over but with the US$ continuing to gain strength against the Euro we will see a decline in Exports.  The dollar/Euro Forex rate is currently the most important piece of economic data.