Friday 8th October 2021 - 13:55 (BST)
Figures released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics have shown the overall US unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.8% over September from 5.2% a month earlier, whilst average hourly earnings grew by 0.6%.
Conversely, the latest nonfarm payrolls (NFP) added only 194,000 jobs over the same month which was way below market expectations of 500,000. Augusts equally lacklustre NFP of 235,000 was revised up to 364,000 but still represents a significant stall of job creation within the USA.
Professional and business services once again added the most positions during September, closely followed by transportation and warehousing, education and manufacturing. The retail sector continues to operate on shaky ground with health concerns holding both employers and employees back.
The mixed data provides a level of uncertainty for the Federal Reserve who are looking to begin tapering their historic stimulus programme against a backdrop of rising inflation and the spread of coronaviruses Delta variant.
Fed chair Jerome Powell stated last week that it would take one more "decent" jobs report to set the wheels in motion — not a "super-strong" one, just one that's "reasonably good.”
The US dollar came back under pressure following the news and losing some of its gains made in recent weeks. Concerns over Chinas power outage, fuel shortages in the UK and large energy price increases globally have seen risk appetite fall sharply.
