Economic Composite
I updated my economic composite to reflect the release of the U.S. Labor Department's employment report on April 5. The report showed a rise in nonfarm employment of 196,000 in March. The number was ahead of expectations of a gain of 175,000. Preliminary numbers for the previous two months were revised slightly upward. This marked considerable improvement from the February report, when payrolls grew just 20,000.
Temp employment in March fell 5,000 from the previous month but rose 1.5% year over year. Preliminary figures for the previous two months were revised downward. Monthly