Nonfarm Payroll.
In plain English
Nonfarm payrolls measure how many jobs the US economy added or cut in a month, counting workers on company and government payrolls but leaving out farm work, the self-employed, and a few other groups. The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the figure on the first Friday of most months, and markets react hard to whether it beats or misses expectations. A strong number suggests a growing economy, which can push the Fed toward higher rates; a weak one can do the opposite.
01Why it matters
The payrolls number is one of the most market-moving data points each month, and it shapes what the Fed does with interest rates, which flows into your borrowing costs.
02The math, step by step
A report shows the economy added 150,000 nonfarm jobs last month, below the 190,000 economists expected. Markets read it as a cooling economy and bet the Fed will hold or cut rates.
03What this is NOT
Nonfarm payrolls are NOT the unemployment rate. Payrolls count jobs added or lost; the unemployment rate is the share of people looking for work who cannot find it, and the two can move in different directions.
04Receipts
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