Nonfarm Payrolls measures the change in the number of people employed during the previous
month, excluding the farming industry. Job creation is the foremost indicator of
consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of economic activity.
A higher than expected reading should be taken as positive/bullish for the USD, while a
lower than expected reading should be taken as negative/bearish for the USD
The Non-farm payrolls report is one of the most anticipated economic news reports in the
forex markets. It is published the first Friday of the month at 8:30AM Eastern time by
the U.S. Bureau of labor statistics. The data release actually includes a number of
statistics, and not just the NFP(which is the change in the number of employees in the
country, not including farm, government, private and non- profit employees.). Another
metric included in the data release is the unemployment rate.