The US economy lost 20K jobs in April. It was the fourth consecutive month that US employment declined. However, the market expected a loss of 75 jobs. The goods-producing sector lost 110 k jobs (-46 K in the manufacturing) but this loss was for a big part compensated by a rise in employment in the services sector of 90 K. The jobless rate dropped from 5.1 in March to 5.0 in April. Average hourly earnings eased to 0.1% M/M and 3.4 % Y/Y, confirming the slowdown in earnings that was already visible over the previous months. While the headline figure was less negative than expected, the report confirms sharp deceleration in US economic activity.

US factory orders rose 1.4 % in a March after an (upward revised) 0.9 % M/M decline in February. Durable orders were revised up to a 0.1 % increase while nondurable orders rose 2.6 % M/M.