By CountingPips.com
The U.S. dollar is trading mostly lower or unchanged against the other major currencies in forex trading today following the better than expected U.S. government employment report. Meanwhile, the U.S. stock markets have continued their 
decline one day after a major freefall and rebound took place.
The dollar has been on the rise against the British pound while falling versus the euro, Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc. Against the Japanese yen, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar, the dollar is currently trading close to unchanged from the day’s opening exchange rate.
The euro, which has been on the defensive all week, has rebounded off of 14-year lows versus the dollar and has increased by approximately 75 pips today. In European news, the German parliament voted to approve the aid package for Greece after a heated debate and much opposition. France, Italy, Spain and Portugal also approved the measure today.
The U.S. stock markets have fallen again so far today with the Dow Jones down by over 100 points, the Nasdaq decreasing by over 45 points and the S&P 500 falling by more than 15 points at time of writing. Oil has been trading lower by $2.05 to the $75.06 per barrel level while gold has dipped by $2.30 to trade at the $1,194.60 per ounce level.
NonFarm Payrolls jump in April
U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls employment data released today showed that jobs rose by the most in four years and for a fourth month in a row in April. The Department of Labor nonfarm payrolls report showed that employment grew by 290,000 workers in April following March’s revised job gain of 230,000 workers. March’s data was revised higher after the original estimate of 162,000 jobs created while February’s data was also revised higher to show an increase of 39,000 jobs.
April’s data marked the best showing in employment in four years and surpassed the market forecasts that were expecting a gain of 190,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate rose from 9.7 percent to 9.9 percent as more people entered the job market looking for work. There are now a total of 15.3 million workers remaining unemployed. The 9.9 percent rate level was higher than the market expectations that were predicting a 9.7 percent unemployment rate.
The service-providing sector led the way of job creation as this sector gained 166,000 total workers in April as the professional and business services sector increased by 80,000 jobs and leisure and hospitality also added 45,000 jobs. The education & health services sector added 35,000 jobs while retail trade added 12,400 jobs and temporary
help services gained by 26,000 jobs.
The goods-producing sector added 65,000 total jobs in April with the construction sector gaining 14,000 jobs and manufacturing creating 44,000 jobs. Mining and logging also added 7,000 workers for the month.
Government hiring, boosted by census hires, increased by 59,000 workers in April after adding 56,000 workers in March.
