DAX investors adjust: US labor market is stronger than expected

Unemployment in the US remains comparatively low.

DAX investors adjust: US labor market is stronger than expected

Unemployment in the US remains comparatively low. Outside of agriculture, even 263,000 jobs will be created. The DAX reacts with sensitive discounts to the US labor market data.

Far more jobs than expected were created on the US labor market in November. Nonfarm payrolls added 263,000 last month, down from an upwardly revised 284,000 in October, the Washington government said. Economists polled by Reuters had only expected 200,000 new jobs in November. The unemployment rate, which was determined separately, remained at the previous month's value of 3.7 percent, as expected by experts.

The Fed wants to curb escalating inflation and at the same time cool down the overheated labor market with higher interest rates. According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the demand for labor far exceeds the supply of available staff. The aim is to restore the disturbed balance. The Fed is also concerned about the strong nominal wage growth in view of the targeted inflation rate of 2.0 percent.

Hourly wages rose 5.1 percent year-on-year in November, after a revised 4.9 percent increase in October. The US central bank is combating inflation, which recently amounted to 7.7 percent, with sharp interest rate hikes and intends to do more in the middle of the month. According to Powell's signals, investors expect a smaller rate hike of half a percentage point. The Fed has recently raised the key interest rate by 0.75 percentage points four times in a row - to now 3.75 to 4.00 percent.

However, the surprisingly strong job creation in the USA dampened investors' expectations of a slowdown in the pace of interest rate hikes. On Friday afternoon after the data was published, the DAX fell 0.5 percent to 14,415 points. US futures extended their losses. The euro fell 0.8 percent to $1.0440. On the bond markets, the yield on ten-year US Treasuries climbed to 3.616 percent.