The US labor market appears to have continued to soften in recent months as the government pulled in reports that had been delayed by the shutdown in DC
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 64,000 in November, according to a Tuesday morning report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The economist’s estimate had been a job growth of 50,000.
The unemployment rate in November rose to a four-year high of 4.6%, against expectations of 4.4% and 4.4% in September.
For October, the economy saw jobs fall by 105,000 versus 119,000 added in September. However, the negative October pressure was certainly influenced by the government shutdown.
Overall, the reports at least paint a modestly weaker picture of the employment situation than expected.
The price of bitcoin gave back some of its small overnight gains in the minutes following the report, falling to $87,000. U.S. stock index futures swung from small gains to small losses, and the 10-year Treasury yield was steady at 4.17%.
Ahead of the data, markets were pricing in a 75% probability that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates steady at its January meeting. These odds remained the same shortly after release.
