Today’s Economic Shakers

Eurozone grows at fastest clip in 6 years, based on latest PMI data...

The latest purchasing managers index (PMI) data was released early this morning, and the numbers show that March growth for the monetary-linked region accelerated at a pace not seen since Q-2 2011.

The March PMI data, released by economic research firm IHS Market, showed that last month’s composite figures for the eurozone came in at 56.4. That was a substantial rise above the previous month, when the region’s PMI was reported at 56.0.

Markit’s PMI numbers are based on a scale of 0-100, with a score over 50 reflecting growth and a number under 50 indicating economic contraction.

The composite figures posted by Markit are based on the average of the member-nations comprising the eurozone, including the region’s biggest economies including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.

Individual PMI numbers were also included in the report, and as is almost always the case, the political and monetary union saw its PMI numbers bolstered by Germany, which had a score of 55.6 for services and a composite score of 57.1, and France, which had a 57.5 score for services and a 56.8 composite score.

Contributing to the strong PMI numbers was Spain, with a 57.4 score for services and Italy, with a 52.9 score.

Overall, both Germany and France saw a saw a 0.6% bump in growth while Spain saw its own economic output increase by 0.8%.

The regional benchmark index, the STOXX 600, traded higher this morning, up 0.20%, helped out by the strong early morning PMI reading.

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US payrolls increase at quickest rate in more than 2 years…

Economic data firm ADP Research reported its payroll data early on Wednesday, and the numbers revealed that US payrolls climbed to the highest levels since December 2014.

According to the ADP report, which is frequently an indicator of the official government data released later in the week, US companies saw private payrolls rise in March by 263,000, a substantial increase above February’s gain of 245,000.

The March numbers handily beat forecasts of 185,000, with the larger-than-predicted gains due in part to the increase in both the construction and manufacturing sectors.

According to the ADP data, the category of service providers saw a strong increase in payrolls, with March gains coming in at 181,000, a big bump above the previous month’s rise of 145,000.

The payroll data showed that the large gains occurred pretty much across the board, with construction seeing a bump of 49,000, factories gaining 30,000 workers, and those companies with an employee base of at least 500 showing a bump of 45,000.

In the case of construction, the combined gains for the months of February and March rose to the highest levels since 2006.

For factory payrolls, the gains for the same 2 months were the best numbers posted in over 6 years.

The payroll data helped propel the equity market higher in early morning trading, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by 0.61%.