The private workforce grew by a weak 89,000 in March, the US Labor Department reports. The gain, which fell far short of the 221,000 increase for February, is well below what the crowd was expecting. Economists were looking for a moderate increase of 170,000 in private-sector employment last month, according to Econoday.com’s consensus forecast. Meanwhile, the strong ADP Employment Report for March hinted at even faster growth at the close of the third quarter. Today’s update from Washington, however, presents a dramatically softer tone for the US labor market.
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President Trump on Thursday night (Washington time) authorized a US missile strike on a Syria-government airfield in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 80 civilians in a northern Syrian town. It’s unclear at this point how or if the US military action materially alters the outlook for geopolitical, economic and market risk, but the potential for change can’t be dismissed. Here’s a brief summary of key factors to consider as the world evaluates the news:
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