Fed should be pleased with US jobs data

The closely watched US non-farm payroll data confirmed once and for all that the stalling of the jobs data in January was a weather related blip which also helps to explain the low Q1 GDP figure of 0.1%.  According to the data, there were 288,000 new jobs in April, far more than the 220,000 expected.  The falling participation rate takes off some of the gloss but it has only fallen back to where it was a year ago, giving the Federal Reserve cause for comfort. Equity markets stayed close to recent highs but bond yields, including Gilts, stuck stubbornly down near the lows for the year.