US payrolls data released today shows 211,000 jobs added in April, which is over 20,000 more than forecast and significantly more than the 79,000 jobs added in the month of March. The unemployment rate, which was expected to rise from 4.5% to 4.6%, unexpectedly fell to 4.4% and is now the lowest it has been since May 2007. The majority of these employment gains were concentrated in services, while manufacturing and construction jobs also rose, but at a weaker pace than the start of the year. The data shows that the US labour market remains healthy and signal positively for continued increases in consumer spending. Wage growth was the weakest part of the report, rising 2.5 per cent year-on-year, from 2.6 per cent in the previous month. The data add to the expectations that the Fed will raise interest rates next month, though Treasury yields initially fell, reacting to the softer wage growth data, before rebounding swiftly after.