US companies added 200,000 jobs last month (seasonally adjusted), according to this morning’s update of the ADP Employment Report. Although March’s gain was slightly below the previous month’s increase, today’s release suggests that the year-over-year trend for private-sector job creation is settling in to a low-2% trend–a pace that’s strong enough, if sustained, to keep the US recovery on track.
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Financial stress in the US economy has ticked lower in recent weeks after jumping to a four-year high in February. The Cleveland Fed’s multi-factor benchmark is still elevated by historical standards, but this daily measure of distress in the financial system has fallen moderately through most of this month to date. Risk levels have also pulled back in March via two other financial stress indexes published by regional Fed banks.
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● Consumer confidence rebounds in March | MarketWatch
● Janet Yellen: Fed Still Plans to Raise Rates but Carefully | NY Times
● Yellen comforts world stocks with cautious rate rise whispers | Reuters
● S&P/Case-Shiller: US home prices up 5.7% YoY in Mar | HousingWire
● US Redbook Sales at 11-week High | Economic Calendar
● US SS Investor Confidence Index ticks up to 6-mo high in Mar | State Street