NFP (non-farm payrolls)

Non-farm payrolls is the change in the number of paid employees in the US economy, excluding farm workers, private household employees and a few other groups. It comes from the Employment Situation report published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which also includes the unemployment rate and average hourly earnings.

The report is usually released on the first Friday of the month at 08:30 New York time (13:30 UK time for most of the year), covering the previous month. The exact date varies, so check the official BLS schedule or an economic calendar.

Why forex traders watch it

Employment is one half of the Federal Reserve's dual mandate, so strong or weak jobs data can shift expectations for US interest rates and, through them, the dollar. What moves markets is usually the surprise: the gap between the actual figure and the consensus forecast, plus revisions to previous months and the wage numbers.

Example

Illustrative figures: the consensus expects 150,000 new jobs. The release shows 230,000, but the previous two months are revised down by a combined 90,000. The headline beat is large, the revisions partly cancel it, and wage growth may tell yet another story. That mix is why the first reaction is often reversed within minutes.

Practical notes

• Spreads commonly widen just before and after the release, and slippage on stops and market orders is more likely.
• The report can be delayed, for example during a US government shutdown, when the BLS may be unable to publish on schedule.
• The release time is fixed to New York, so the UK and EU time shifts by an hour for a few weeks a year when daylight saving changes on different dates. The market hours tool shows it in your time zone.

More in how economic data moves forex.