Bitcoin (BTC) Price Update: Slight Decline Following Better-Than-Expected Employment Data

In the first look at the employment picture since last month’s Liberation Day tariff announcements sent markets tumbling and supply chain professionals into unprecedented areas of uncertainty, the U.S. jobs market for the moment remained reasonably strong. The U.S. added 177,000 jobs in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Nonfarm Payrolls Report. That surpassed analyst estimates for 130,000 and March’s revised figure of 185,000 (originally reported as 228,000). The unemployment rate for April held steady at 4.2%, matching predictions and March’s figure.

In the wake of the initial panic over the tariffs, the price of bitcoin (BTC) was modestly lower at $96,700 shortly after the report was released. U.S. stock futures continued to climb, with the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 both up by 0.7%.

This morning’s report may temper expectations for imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts. While market participants had sidelined the idea of any Fed action in May, they had priced in about a 60% chance of a rate cut in June and more than a 90% likelihood of one or more rate cuts by the July central bank meeting, as indicated by CME FedWatch.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose four basis points to 4.27% following the stronger-than-expected numbers. Looking at other report data, average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% in April, falling short of forecasts for 0.3% and matching March’s 0.3%. Year-over-year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.8%, compared to the expected 3.9% and March’s rate of 3.8%.