The US Federal Reserve is reportedly heading for a first rate cut since July 2023, which stands at 5.3%, after domestic employment data was revised downward.
The U.S. Department of Labor has updated its employment data for April 2023 through March 2024.
While nearly 242,000 new jobs were expected on average per month in the United States, this figure is ultimately around 174,000, which represents a drop of 68,000 jobs.
However, the job creation is still sufficient to suggest that the Federal Reserve, also known as the FED, will lower its key rate on September 18.
“I think that comforts them. The FED had already opened the door, then (…) with the minutes of their last meeting that were published Wednesday afternoon, we see that the FED already seemed ready to lower rates,” explained Francis Généreux, senior economist at Mouvement Desjardins.
Let us recall that in Canada, the key rate is at 4.5% after a new decrease of 0.25 percentage points decided on July 24. The next update is expected for September 4.