Labor

In addition to the poor headline Establishment survey print which rose only 160,000 in April, coupled with a deplorable Household survey employment number which plunged by 316,000 for the month and below levels seen in February, an even more concerning development was the resumption in the deteriorating trend in the US labor force participation rate, which in recent months had been on a steady increase as far fewer workers were dropping out of the workforce (contrary to convention wisdom, this was not driven by new entrants into the labor force).

So much for the only indicator that confirmed a "strong recovery." In yet another Goldman jinx which just two days ago boosted its payrolls forecast from 225K to 240K, moments ago the BLS reported that ADP's ominous print was right when it said that April payrolls rose only 160K, far below the 200K expected, and higher than just 1 of 92 economist expectations. This was the lowest print since last September's 145K.

Private payrolls rose 171K on expectations of a 195K print, with last month's 230K revised steeply lower to 184K.

Citizens in Switzerland are to vote on whether the country will become the first to guarantee a basic monthly income next month.  Swiss voters will decide whether every citizen and legal resident will earn $2,600 tax-free per month, on the June 5 elections. Sputniknews.com reports: “This is a great idea,” Chloe Hubert, a student at the University of Geneva, told USA Today. “I only work on weekends, so this income would really help.” Switzerland allows any proposal to be placed on the ballot, so long as a minimum of 100,000 signatures are obtained.

Submitted by Lance Roberts via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

Housing Recovery – Not So Much

“Everyone wants a house, and that’s a big problem.

 

We’ve noted in the past that there is a substantial issue in the housing market right now. Too few homes are being built for the number of people that want to move into them, thus driving up prices and keeping some lower-end or first-time buyers out of the market.“

With layoffs surging, ISM surveys slumping, and earnings collapsing, the incessant down-trend in initial jobless claims - to 43 year lows - seems aberrant at best and manipulated at worst. However, the tide may be turning as last week's 17k surge to 274k (the biggest WoW jump since January 2015)  begins to catch up claims to reality...

As we detailed earlier, the initial claims data doesn't fit with Challenger-Grey layoffs...

Doesn't fit with Services Employment...