Latest US jobs and unemployment figures are released next Friday. Last month’s strong reading took economists by surprise. But other economic indicators look more subdued: separate data from earlier this month showed job openings fell by more than expected in April. Goldman economist Jan Hatzius wrote last week that the labour market is at an “inflection point”, in that “a further softening in labour demand would hit actual jobs, not just open positions, and could therefore push up the unemployment rate more significantly”.
Elsewhere next week, there’s the small matter of the UK general election on 4 July. The headline result is surely a foregone conclusion, the main outstanding question being how large Labour’s majority will be. Expect few fireworks in bond, currency or equity markets either way.