The US labor market appears to have found its footing: The economy added 172,000 jobs in May, shattering expectations, new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed Friday.
The latest jobs report provided some reassurance that the US labor market may be stabilizing after a year of weak and stilted job growth: Unemployment held steady at 4.3%, while employment gains topped 100,000 for the third consecutive month, a pattern not seen since early 2024.
Job growth was also far stronger than initially thought in recent months. March’s payroll gains were revised up by 29,000 to 214,000, while April’s tally was revised higher by 64,000 to 179,000 jobs added.
…
Annual wage growth slowed to 3.4% in May from 3.6% the month before. Based on the latest projections for the May Consumer Price Index, which is due out next week, pay gains could be running nearly 1 percentage point below inflation.
…
Leisure and hospitality added an estimated 70,000 jobs in May, more than double the gains in April for the industry; the government sector added 52,000 jobs (with local government roles that exclude education accounting for 43,500 of those); and healthcare and social assistance added 47,200 jobs.
And in the Frozen North:
Canada’s economy added 87,800 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 6.6% in May, data showed on Friday, defying widespread expectations of only modest employment growth and showing some resilience despite signs of softer economic growth.
The May data marked the first job growth of 2026 and helped wipe out almost 80 per cent of all job losses posted since the start of the year.
…
Statscan said the construction sector added a net 26,800 jobs, the information, culture and recreation sector saw a gain of 19,300 jobs, transportation and warehousing employment grew by 18,700 jobs and accommodation and food services gained 17,000 jobs.The wholesale and retail trade sector, which accounts for almost 14 per cent of the total employed workforce, posted a decline of 35,000 positions.
…
The job growth last month was concentrated entirely in full-time jobs, which saw a net addition of 154,000 in May, reversing almost all of the first four months of net job losses in that category, StatsCan said. Part-time employment fell by 66,200 positions.Average hourly wages of permanent employees, a metric closely tracked by the Bank of Canada to gauge inflation expectations, grew 3.2 per cent in May, a sharp decline from 4.8 per cent in April.
.The markets say; the markets judged:
Wall Street’s nine-week winning streak ended with a thud on Friday, as red-hot technology stocks suffered their largest daily decline since April 2025 after a hot May jobs report fueled fears of a hawkish policy pivot from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Selling was concentrated among chip stocks and other technology favorites that have surged higher in recent weeks as the Nasdaq Composite Index and S&P 500 rose repeatedly to fresh highs.
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Financial markets are pricing in a 42.7% likelihood of a rate hike at the conclusion of the Fed’s December meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.U.S. Treasury yields surged following the report, with the yield on the 2-year note, which typically moves in step with Fed rate expectations, hitting a 15-month high. It was at 4.147% by late afternoon.
Canadian bond yields were also up sharply for the session. Canada’s employment report showed the economy adding 87,800 jobs last month, wiping out much of the declines posted since the start of the year.
Investors are now pricing in roughly 40 basis points of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada through the end of the year, up from 34 basis points before the data. Economists aren’t so convinced: a Reuters poll released Friday showed they expect no change in rates this year, including at a policy decision next Wednesday.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 695.15 points, or 1.35%, to 50,866.78, the S&P 500 shed 200.57 points, or 2.64%, to 7,383.74 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1,121.53 points, or 4.18%, to 25,709.43.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index ended down 803.61 points at 34,413.45, pulling back from a record closing high on Thursday and marking its biggest decline since February 12. For the week, the index was down 1%.
| HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices Values are provisional and are finalized monthly |
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| Index | Mean Current Yield (at bid) |
Median YTW |
Median Average Trading Value |
Median Mod Dur (YTW) |
Issues | Day’s Perf. | Index Value |
| Ratchet | 5.61 % | 5.98 % | 28,065 | 14.87 | 1 | 1.0951 % | 2,617.0 |
| FixedFloater | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 1.1401 % | 4,960.4 |
| Floater | 5.49 % | 5.72 % | 38,277 | 14.25 | 3 | 1.1401 % | 2,858.7 |
| OpRet | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0951 % | 3,638.8 |
| SplitShare | 4.79 % | 4.38 % | 51,252 | 2.78 | 5 | 0.0951 % | 4,345.5 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0951 % | 3,390.5 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.68 % | 5.70 % | 81,791 | 14.08 | 7 | 0.0907 % | 3,071.8 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.59 % | 5.64 % | 43,564 | 14.40 | 28 | -0.0251 % | 3,375.4 |
| FixedReset Disc | 5.61 % | 5.88 % | 130,852 | 13.91 | 19 | 0.0340 % | 3,316.2 |
| Insurance Straight | 5.48 % | 5.56 % | 46,829 | 14.60 | 22 | 0.2005 % | 3,289.2 |
| FloatingReset | 4.64 % | 4.65 % | 24,159 | 16.22 | 1 | 0.0501 % | 4,099.4 |
| FixedReset Prem | 5.93 % | 4.71 % | 82,366 | 2.28 | 29 | -0.0535 % | 2,650.7 |
| FixedReset Bank Non | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0340 % | 3,389.9 |
| FixedReset Ins Non | 5.11 % | 5.31 % | 73,771 | 14.55 | 14 | 0.0713 % | 3,230.8 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| CU.PR.H | Perpetual-Discount | -1.77 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 23.58 Evaluated at bid price : 23.85 Bid-YTW : 5.53 % |
| ENB.PR.D | FixedReset Disc | -1.75 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 21.86 Evaluated at bid price : 22.40 Bid-YTW : 6.14 % |
| CU.PR.D | Perpetual-Discount | -1.74 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 21.76 Evaluated at bid price : 22.01 Bid-YTW : 5.59 % |
| IFC.PR.A | FixedReset Ins Non | -1.59 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 22.46 Evaluated at bid price : 22.84 Bid-YTW : 5.37 % |
| BN.PF.K | Ratchet | 1.10 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 22.00 Evaluated at bid price : 17.54 Bid-YTW : 5.98 % |
| PWF.PR.F | Perpetual-Discount | 1.12 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 23.21 Evaluated at bid price : 23.51 Bid-YTW : 5.64 % |
| ENB.PR.Y | FixedReset Disc | 1.12 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 22.16 Evaluated at bid price : 22.60 Bid-YTW : 6.06 % |
| SLF.PR.E | Insurance Straight | 1.25 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 21.70 Evaluated at bid price : 21.95 Bid-YTW : 5.12 % |
| BN.PR.B | Floater | 1.47 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 13.85 Evaluated at bid price : 13.85 Bid-YTW : 5.73 % |
| ENB.PR.J | FixedReset Disc | 1.48 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 23.04 Evaluated at bid price : 24.05 Bid-YTW : 5.97 % |
| BN.PR.K | Floater | 2.06 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 13.87 Evaluated at bid price : 13.87 Bid-YTW : 5.72 % |
| PWF.PR.S | Perpetual-Discount | 2.26 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 21.47 Evaluated at bid price : 21.73 Bid-YTW : 5.58 % |
| SLF.PR.C | Insurance Straight | 2.49 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 21.52 Evaluated at bid price : 21.78 Bid-YTW : 5.10 % |
| MFC.PR.L | FixedReset Ins Non | 2.84 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 23.37 Evaluated at bid price : 24.99 Bid-YTW : 5.30 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| ENB.PF.C | FixedReset Disc | 47,560 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 22.69 Evaluated at bid price : 23.60 Bid-YTW : 6.03 % |
| FTS.PR.M | FixedReset Prem | 36,500 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2029-12-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.13 Bid-YTW : 5.38 % |
| MFC.PR.M | FixedReset Ins Non | 31,700 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2056-06-05 Maturity Price : 23.26 Evaluated at bid price : 24.87 Bid-YTW : 5.46 % |
| MFC.PR.K | FixedReset Ins Non | 27,900 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2028-09-19 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.65 Bid-YTW : 5.05 % |
| BN.PF.J | FixedReset Prem | 18,582 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2027-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.93 Bid-YTW : 4.52 % |
| CU.PR.C | FixedReset Prem | 17,521 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2027-06-01 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.00 Bid-YTW : 5.29 % |
| There were 5 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| See TMX DataLinx: ‘Last’ != ‘Close’ and the posts linked therein for an idea of why these quotes are so horrible. | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| ENB.PF.E | FixedReset Disc | Quote: 23.05 – 24.70 Spot Rate : 1.6500 Average : 1.3304 YTW SCENARIO |
| ENB.PR.D | FixedReset Disc | Quote: 22.40 – 23.00 Spot Rate : 0.6000 Average : 0.4001 YTW SCENARIO |
| GWO.PR.M | Insurance Straight | Quote: 25.55 – 26.32 Spot Rate : 0.7700 Average : 0.6228 YTW SCENARIO |
| CU.PR.D | Perpetual-Discount | Quote: 22.01 – 22.49 Spot Rate : 0.4800 Average : 0.3538 YTW SCENARIO |
| GWO.PR.P | Insurance Straight | Quote: 23.95 – 24.74 Spot Rate : 0.7900 Average : 0.6717 YTW SCENARIO |
| CU.PR.H | Perpetual-Discount | Quote: 23.85 – 24.65 Spot Rate : 0.8000 Average : 0.6834 YTW SCENARIO |