(Kitco News) – The gold market is trading in positive territory on Wednesday morning as the U.S. labor market continues to fire on all cylinders, according to private sector payrolls processor ADP.
On Wednesday, ADP announced that 192,000 jobs were created last month. The report beat expectations as consensus forecasts called for job gains of 175,000. March’s figure was also revised upward to 208,000 from the initial reading of 184,000.
“Hiring was broad-based in April,” said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP. “Only the information sector – telecommunications, media, and information technology – showed weakness, posting job losses and the smallest pace of pay gains since August 2021.”
The gold market is trading higher after the latest employment data. Spot gold last traded at $2,296.30 an ounce, up 0.44% on the day.
Along with robust gains in headline employment, the report also noted that annual wages were up 5% year-over-year, adding further concerns to the ongoing inflation threat. “Pay growth for jobchangers fell from 10.1 percent in March to 9.3 percent, but remains higher than it was at the beginning of the year,” the report added.
Hiring was broad-based, with the service-providing sector adding 145,000 jobs, led by leisure & hospitality (+56,000), trade, transportation & utilities (+26,000), education & health services (+26,000), professional & business services (+22,000), and financial activities (+16,000). Additionally, the goods-producing sector added 47,000 jobs, with boosts in construction (+35,000), manufacturing (+9,000), and natural resources & mining (+3,000).
