US May employment posts gains surprise

The US jobs report for May was released on Friday and will perhaps go down in history as one of the biggest upsets to consensus on the monthly number. Consensus put job losses in the US at over 7 million for May, the actual figure was 2.5 million growth in jobs which was unprecedented. Markets rallied sharply on the news as investors saw a V shaped recovery being more likely given this anecdotal evidence on US jobs growth rather than contraction. Many believe the jump in employment was attributed to the US furlough scheme coming into effect which saw employees re hired back onto company rosters with salaries being paid by the government.