Highlight | Non-farm Payrolls

Spread Bet on Non-Farms

The US non-farm payrolls release is one of the most closely watched US indicators, and is considered one of the best gauges of US job creation. Now you can spread bet directly on the monthly non-farms with IG Index.

US non-farm payrolls are published at 1.30pm (London time) on the first Friday of every month, and the minute after this data is released is frequently the busiest dealing period at IG Index. Regularly we see more than 5000 transactions taking place, highlighting the significance of this announcement to the financial community.

Why are non-farms so important?

Labour is critically important in the US economy, with unemployment levels playing a leading role in the perceived strength of the current economic recovery. Consequently, the policies of the Federal Reserve may be influenced by the non-farm figures.

• If the number of jobs being created is high, this can point to inflationary pressure, and the Fed might be led to consider a rates hike.
• A decline in the number of jobs being created may indicate the economy is contracting, raising the chance of a rates cut.
• Up or down, if the figure deviates from analysts' expectations, there is a good chance there'll be volatility in dollar exchange rates and stock index levels.

How to spread bet on non-farms

At IG Index we're quoting our payroll prices as a series of binary bets, owing to the potential for volatility around this time. With binaries, the price of a bet settles at either zero or 100, which means you are aware of your maximum potential profit or loss in advance.

Example

Our non-farm binary bets are quoted in a 'ladder' format:

In this example, you can see that the consensus is that the payroll figure will be around 190,000, close to the '50' price.

If you believe analysts' forecasts to be well off the mark, and in fact there will be around 300,000 new jobs created, you could 'buy' the 'Non-farms payrolls to be above 290,000' bet at 15. If you are right, the bet will settle at 100 and your payout would be calculated as follows:

Your profit is 85 multiplied by your stake.

Similarly, however, if you had been wrong, and the figure had come in below 290,000, the bet would have settled at zero and you would have lost 15 multiplied by your stake.

Take a position

With IG Index you can bet on a variety of different economic indicators, including MPC rate changes, US initial jobless claims and, of course, US non-farm payrolls. To find these offerings, simply log in to the dealing platform, go to 'Finder', select 'Binary Specials', and then 'Economic Data'.

If you don't have an IG Index account already, you can apply online in minutes, with no forms to send and no obligation to fund.

Updated: 31/05/11

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