Here’s where the jobs are for May 2024 — in one chart

The U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs for the month, coming out significantly higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 190,000. Employment swung higher in several industries, with health care leading the way again this month, followed by government and hospitality. These sectors also accounted for more than half of the month’s total gains. Meanwhile, job losses occurred in department stores and furniture and home furnishings retailers.

Job growth in May was surprisingly strong, pushing back on lingering fears of a broader economic slowdown and likely slowing the Federal Reserve’s rate-cutting timeline.

The U.S. economy added 272,000 jobs for the month, coming out significantly higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 190,000. That’s also higher than the average monthly gain of 232,000 over the last 12 months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In May, employment swung higher in several industries, with health care leading the way again this month, followed by government and hospitality. The three sectors, respectively, added 68,000, 43,000 and 42,000 jobs, similar to trends seen over the past year. These sectors also accounted for more than half of the month’s total gains. The combined health-care and social assistance space netted more than 83,000 jobs in May.

The professional, scientific and technical services sector was also a bright spot in May, as it added 32,000 jobs during the month, which is much higher than the average monthly gain of 19,000 over the past 12 months.

On the other hand, social assistance employment trended higher as it added 15,000 last month, below the sector’s average of 22,000 jobs per month seen over the last year. Meanwhile, job losses occurred in department stores and furniture and home furnishings retailers.

Other major industries — including oil and gas extraction, construction, manufacturing, information and financial activities — all saw little or no change over the month in employment, per the report.

Investors walked away from the report discouraged that the Federal Reserve would cut rates in June, noting that the increase in job growth and above-average wage growth paints a picture of a fairly strong consumer.

“As has been the case recently, job growth was driven by non-cyclical areas like health care and government, but cyclical areas like leisure and hospitality were strong…this is likely

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Aquiline raises over $2.3n for fifth PE fund

Aquiline Capital Partners, a private investment firm focused on financial services and related technologies, has raised $2.3bn for its fifth private equity fund, Aquiline Financial Services Fund V, making it the firm’s largest fund to date.

AFS V attracted support from the firm’s existing investor base of financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds, funds of funds and family offices, as well as first-time commitments from investors across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Aquiline also closed its Continuation Fund with approximately $1.1bn of capital commitments, including a lead investment from HarbourVest Partners. The continuation fund was established to acquire select portfolio companies in Aquiline Financial Services Fund II and Aquiline Financial Services Fund III. A portion of the fund will be available as follow-on capital to support future growth initiatives and potential strategic acquisitions within the portfolio.

HarbourVest served as lead investor in the Continuation Fund, with participation from other new investors including StepStone, funds managed by Ares Management and Commonfund’s CF private equity business, as well as re-investment from existing limited partners. All AFS II and AFS III limited partners were provided with the option to roll their value on status quo terms, reinvest their value into the Continuation Fund or receive full liquidity.

Former BP boss calls for end to new North Sea drilling licences

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The next UK government faces tough choices on green energy

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Next Edge to wind down flagship credit fund after halting redemptions

A surge in redemption requests has prompted private debt manager Next Edge Capital to gate its flagship credit fund, leaving clients unable to access their money and the firm now planning to wind down the portfolio over the next two years, according to a report by the Globe and Mail.

The move is the Toronto-based asset manager’s second wind-down of a private debt fund, with the firm having been in the process of closing the Next Edge RCM Private Yield Fund, whose credit adviser is RC Morris Capital Management, since 2020.

That fund saw a 25% loss in March and a loss of 18% for 2023, with the vehicle at risk of increasing losses as it becomes more concentrated and subject to wider performance fluctuations.

Created in 2015, the Next Edge Private Debt Fund lends to companies that typically cannot obtain bank financing. Over its first eight years, the fund often posted solid returns between 7% and 9% annually, but performance dipped in 2023, with redemption requests now sitting at 20% of total assets.

According to the report, Next Edge now feels the best option is to wind down the portfolio and roll its investors into a different fund in the future. The firm has now capped the existing fund’s monthly payouts at a 6% annual yield – only 1% higher than some guaranteed investment certificates – and halted redemptions.

U.S. adds a much-better-than-expected 272,000 jobs in May, but unemployment rate edges up to 4%

Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 272,000 for the month, up from 165,000 in April and well ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 190,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4%, the first time it has breached that level since January 2022. Job gains were concentrated in health care, government, and leisure and hospitality, consistent with recent trends. Average hourly earnings were higher than expected as well, rising 0.4% on the month and 4.1% from a year ago.

The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in May, countering fears of a slowdown in the labor market and likely reducing the Federal Reserve’s impetus to lower interest rates.

Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 272,000 for the month, up from 165,000 in April and well ahead of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 190,000, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

At the same time, the unemployment rate rose to 4%, the first time it has breached that level since January 2022. Economists had been expecting the rate to stay unchanged at 3.9% from April.

The increase came even though the labor force participation rate decreased to 62.5%, down 0.2 percentage point. The survey of households used to compute the unemployment rate showed that the level of people who reported holding jobs fell by 408,000.

“On the surface, [the report] was hot, but you’ve also got a bigger drop in household employment,” said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab. “For what it’s worth, that tends to be a more accurate signal when you’re at an inflection point in the economy. You can find weakness in the underlying numbers.”

A more encompassing unemployment figure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons held steady at 7.4%.

The household survey also showed that full-time workers declined by 625,000, while those holding part-time positions increased by 286,000.

Job gains were concentrated in health care, government, and leisure and hospitality, consistent with recent trends. The three sectors respectively added 68,000, 43,000 and 42,000 positions. The three sectors accounted for more than half the gains.

A Now Hiring sign hangs near the entrance to the PetSmart store on December 03, 2021 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images

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GameStop announces share sale plan ahead of Roaring Kitty livestream

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LGT Capital Partners holds final close of third direct secondaries fund at $3bn

LGT Capital Partners has completed the final close of Crown Secondaries Special Opportunities III at $3bn, exceeding the original target size of $2.5bn. The firm’s fund provides liquidity solutions for private equity-owned companies.

CSSO III acquires direct minority stakes in private equity-owned portfolio companies, finances M&A growth and participates in concentrated continuation vehicles. Investors include pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and endowments in Europe, the US, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

LGT Capital Partners has completed 87 investments since 2015.

Fed rate cut ‘off the table’ as US economy adds 272,000 jobs

This marks an increase in the 175,000 pace notched in April and a higher average monthly gain than the 232,000 over the past twelve months. Wall Street had forecast an increase of around 185,000 jobs. The May employment report also revealed a slight stimulation of average hourly earnings growth from 0.2% in April to 0.4% in May. This means that the average hourly earnings have increased by 4.1% over the past twelve months.  Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot, said: “With average hourly earnings also continuing to trend upwards in the US, this data has t…

Yellow Wood completes Elida acquisition from Unilever

Yellow Wood Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm focused on consumer brands and companies, has completed the acquisition of Elida Beauty, which includes Q-Tipsm Timothy and Impulse, from Unilever.

In conjunction with the closing, consumer packaged goods executive Alfie Vivian has been appointed as CEO of Elida to work with the Yellow Wood team towards the company’s growth.

Vivian most recently served as Senior Vice President/Group General Manager of Tyson Foods. Prior to that, he was with Unilever in different geographies for nearly 30 years in senior general management and brand building roles.

Yellow Wood’s portfolio includes over 50 consumer brands with total retail sales of approximately $3bn, according to a press statement. Yellow Wood’s brands include beauty and personal care products company The Suave Brands Company, which includes the Suave and ChapStick brands; global footcare brand Dr Scholl’s and Scholl International; Beacon Wellness Brands; self-tanning brands Isle of Paradise, Tanologist and TanLuxe; skincare brand Byoma; and PPI Beauty, which includes Real Techniques and Ecotools.