Nonfarm employers cut payrolls by 345,000 last month, well below the 525,000-drop expected. And, the previous month was revised to show fewer jobs were lost than initially reported. The unemployment rate, however, jumped to 9.4 percent, the highest since August 1983 and higher than the 9.2 percent expected.
"Forget the unemployment rate—it lags," wrote Robert Brusca, an economists at Fact and Opinion Economics, in a morning note to clients. "Jobs are doing what they do at end recessions and in early recoveries ... Job gains by the fourth quarter—believe it," he said.
The news initially gave stocks a boost but that faded within the first hour of trading and stocks took a dive.
Traders "are very concerned how nonfarm payrolls can be down and unemployment high," said Mark McLain, managing director of trading at Ladenburg Thalmann. Plus, the last couple of days, there's been a sentiment change in the market, McLain explained, as traders take a step back after running up amid dismal economic data.
Still to come: April consumer-credit figures are due out at 3 pm ET, with $6 billion decline expected. These figures could be scrutinized more than usual, given the focus on tight credit markets.
