The solid 428,000 gain in non-farm payroll employment in April illustrates that the Fed was right to ignore the misleading contraction in first-quarter GDP, with the economy still on a firm footing. Admittedly, we expect employment growth to slow this year, but fears of an imminent recession, which have been amplified by the latest bout of weakness in equities, are overblown.
Payrolls Drop-In (6th May, 10:00 EDT/15:00 BST): Our US Economics team will be online shortly after the April employment report to answer your questions and discuss what the latest payrolls data mean for our outlook on US growth, inflation and Fed policy. Register now
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