DAVY VIEW

February payrolls data were in line with our view that the labour market remained in good shape early in 2026, and from here we think it is likely to remain resilient into the summer months. The pattern of growth in Q4 now looks far stronger due to large revisions to November’s payrolls; we had mostly discounted what looked like an anomalous decline that month. The revised data point to a particularly strong result for employee growth rates in sectors with above-average wages, and for younger workers too.