Nonfarm Payrolls

Importance: Highest.
Published by: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Release: First Friday of the month at 8:30 ET for the prior month.
Web: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm

The Non Farm Payrolls release - the change in non farm employment from the establishment data - is the most closely followed economic statistic for the stock and bond markets. The numbers that make up this part of the Employment Report use payroll records - furnishing the most concrete evidence of whether the US is creating jobs.

It is important to note that the change in Non Farm Payrolls includes government jobs - so for a clearer picture of the situation in the private business sector, government positions need to be factored out.