- Nonfarm payrolls surged 225,000 for the month, well above Wall Street estimates for a 158,000 gain.
- The unemployment rate ticked higher to 3.6%, but for the right reason as the labor force participation rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 63.4%, matching its highest level since June 2013.
- Average hourly earnings rose 3.1% over a year ago to $28.44, ahead of estimates for 3% growth.
The employment-to-population ratio in the household survey rose to 61.2%, its highest since November 2008 and 0.5 percentage points higher than a year ago.
