U.S. added just 29,000 jobs in September, with unemployment rate rising to 4.2%
The U.S. economy added only 29,000 jobs in September, significantly missing expectations and causing the unemployment rate to rise to 4.2%. Following the report, bond yields fell and bitcoin prices remained elevated as market expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike decreased.
Why it matters
The weak jobs data suggests a cooling labor market, which influences Federal Reserve monetary policy and investor sentiment across asset classes.
The U.S. added 29,000 jobs in September, according to the government’s Nonfarm Payrolls Report released Friday morning. That was below the consensus forecast of 90,000 and compared with August’s gain of 133,000 (revised down from an originally reported 162,000).
The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, versus expectations of 4.1% and August’s reading of 4.1%.
In addition to August’s downward revision, July’s 21,000 jobs gain was revised to a jobs loss of 10,000.
Already higher on the session, bitcoin continued just under $87,000 in the minutes following the release. U.S. stock index futures were adding to gains, the Nasdaq rising 1.2%.
The 10-year Treasury yield slumped by 7 basis points to 5.17%, and the 2-year yield fell by a similar margin to 4.71%. Gold gained more than 1%, and the greenback fell versus major currencies.
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