labor market

According to new stats from the Conference Board US consumer confidence increased more than expected this month to its highest level in 8 months since May 2010. The growth was supported by growing optimism about the economy and the jobs market.

The Conference Board says that its index of consumer attitudes jumped to 60.6 in January, the highest since May 2010, from an upwardly revised 53.3 in December.

The latest data from the Conference Board showed that consumer confidence rose slightly in October but it still remains near historically low levels. The group reported that its index of consumer attitudes rose to 50.2 in October from a revised 48.6 in September.

Meantime, the median of 72 forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters was for a reading of 49.2. Forecasts ranged from 45.0 to 53.0.

The expectations index rose to 67.8 in October from 65.5 last month. The present situation index increased to 23.9 from 23.3.

Jeffrey Lacker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said that the US recovery is "sustainable" and the economy is unlikely to see another meltdown. He cited Friday employment report as evidence to that “the labor market is bottoming out.”

In March US non-farm payrolls increased 162,000 after February’s drop of 36,000. Jobless rate remained unchanged at 9.7% for the third consecutive month in accordance with the experts’ expectations.

U.S. employers unexpectedly cut 85,000 jobs in December, limiting optimism on the labor market's recovery and pressing on President Barack Obama to find ways to spur job growth.
The Labour Department said on Friday that November payrolls were revised to show the economy actually added 4,000 jobs rather than losing 11,000 as initially reported, breaking a streak of consecutive losses that dates back to December 2007.
With revisions to October, however, the economy lost 1,000 more jobs than previously estimated over the two months.