The labor market strengthened more than expected in September as the government resumed publishing official economic data following a deal to end the shutdown.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 119,000 in September, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Thursday morning. Economists had expected a gain of 50,000 while the August figure was 22,000.
The unemployment rate, however, rose to 4.4% compared to 4.3% expected and 4.3% in August.
This jobs report would normally have been released the first week of October, but was delayed due to the government shutdown. More thematic data on jobs will not be available until mid-December.
Up slightly after Nvidia’s strong results and outlook calmed markets Thursday evening, bitcoin mostly held on to that gain, trading at $91,900. U.S. stock index futures continued with strong gains led by Nvidia, with the Nasdaq up 1.9%. The 10-year Treasury yield remained at 4.11% and the dollar continued with slight gains.
Prior to the report’s release, markets had more or less written off the chances of a Fed rate cut in December and this data is unlikely to overturn that idea.
