US Employment Surges Unexpectedly... Treasury Yields Reach 1.6%, Stock Futures Rise (Comprehensive)

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. employment increased by a much larger margin than expected. Following the news of the employment surge, U.S. Treasury yields soared back to the 1.6% range, and although stock futures initially reversed to a decline, they are now showing an upward trend.

On the 5th (local time), the U.S. Department of Labor announced that employment increased by 379,000 in February. This was 160,000 more than the Dow Jones consensus market estimate of 210,000, a 'surprise' level increase.

Most of the new jobs were created in restaurants, hotels, and bars. In this sector alone, 355,000 jobs were added. The retail sector saw an increase of 41,000 jobs, and manufacturing added 21,000 jobs.

In the public sector, employment decreased by 69,000, and in the construction sector, it fell by 61,000.

The unemployment rate also slightly dropped from 6.3% in the previous month to 6.2%. Last April, the unemployment rate had surged to as high as 14.8%.

The Wall Street Journal commented that as economic activities resumed, jobs increased for two consecutive months and showed a significant rise compared to the end of last year.

Although the pace of employment growth is accelerating, compared to one year before the COVID-19 outbreak, 9.5 million jobs are still missing.

The better-than-expected employment data caused U.S. Treasury yields to surge. Immediately after the employment report was released, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to the 1.6% range. Treasury yields had risen to 1.5% the day before following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks tolerating inflation, and quickly reached 1.6%.

New York stock futures fell after the employment report but have reversed to an upward trend. As of 9:05 a.m., Dow futures are up 0.75%, and Nasdaq futures are up 0.36%.