Positive Non-farm Payroll Data To Boost Investor Sentiment – Economic Highlights

The participation rate was lower than expected at 62.7 percent, still in an historically low range. Overall for 2014, 2.9 million jobs were gained. This is the strongest year for jobs growth since 1999.

Average hourly earnings dipped -0.2 percent, and November average hourly earnings were revised lower to +0.2 percent. This indicates that while the overall employment picture is indeed looking much more positive, most of the jobs being added to the workforce are of the low-wage variety. Year over year, average hourly earnings are up 1.7 percent.

Futures were down ahead of the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), but have subsequently climbed upon absorption of the report. This indicates positive sentiment going into the final trading day of the week, which has been a good one for many investors who had gotten beaten up in the first 5 trading sessions of 2015.