Basics
NFP (Non-Farm Payrolls)
The monthly US employment report, released the first Friday of each month. One of the highest-impact scheduled events for USD pairs, gold and indices — expect a sharp spike and wider spreads at the release.
Also called: non-farm payrolls, non farm payrolls
In practice
At 8:30am ET on NFP Friday, the US reports 250,000 jobs versus a 180,000 forecast. EUR/USD spikes 40 pips downward within seconds, gold drops $10, and spreads on USD pairs briefly widen from 0.2 to 5+ pips as liquidity thins during the print.
Why it matters for traders
NFP is one of the few scheduled events that regularly moves the dollar, gold and indices hard enough to make or break a trade. Traders either avoid the release window to dodge slippage and chaos, or plan around it deliberately with reduced size and pre-set orders — ignoring it is how an otherwise good trade gets spiked out in seconds.
Common pitfall
The mistake is holding a position straight through the 8:30 release with a normal stop, expecting the spike to go your way. NFP regularly gaps and widens spreads enough to skip past stops in seconds. Either be flat during the print, or reduce size sharply and accept that a planned stop may fill much worse. Treating NFP like a normal trading minute is how an otherwise good week is lost in five seconds.
Related terms
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