US job numbers fall short of expectations

US jobs data released today, less than two weeks before the next Federal Reserve meeting, showed that employers added fewer jobs than expected in May. Employers added 138,000 jobs in May, which was less than Wall Street’s expectation of 182,000, while April’s gain of 211,000 was also revised lower to 174,000. This contrasts with the fall in the unemployment rate, derived from a separate survey of households, to 4.3% from 4.4%. Following the announcement, the US dollar and 10-year Treasury yield fell to their lowest levels since the election of Donald Trump last November. Though this was not what financial markets were expecting, it is still believed that the Fed will raise interest rates in their next meeting given that the US is near full employment, although it has brought into question the trajectory of rate rises for the rest of the year ahead.