NFP (Non-Farm Payrolls)

The headline figure from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly Employment Situation report, released on the first Friday of each month at 8:30 AM Eastern. NFP measures the change in the number of employed people, excluding farm workers, government employees, private household employees, and nonprofit organization workers. It is arguably the single most market-moving economic data point in the world -- forex, bond, and equity markets can swing violently in the minutes following the release, especially when the number deviates significantly from the consensus forecast.