Announced this morning, the economy added just 194,000 jobs in September, less than expected, but the previous month was revised higher by 131,000. The Retail Trade industry was relatively strong, while Government jobs were weak, losing 123,000 jobs in the month. Additionally, the Leisure & Hospitality industry added only 74,000 jobs, much less than the hundreds of thousands per month earlier in the year. The Unemployment Rate decreased four tenths to 4.8% and the Labor Force Participation Rate was one tenth lower to 61.6%. Average Hourly Earnings is up 4.6% on an annual basis, as expected, and Average Weekly Hours were 34.8, which is slightly higher than the previous month. Overall, a very weak headline number, helped some by a positive revision to the previous month, coupled with a decent decrease in the unemployment rate. Impacts from the spread of the Delta variant remain apparent as jobs still haven’t returned to the Leisure & Hospitality industry, even as the extra unemployment benefits have expired. The Federal Reserve is likely on track to continue with tapering asset purchases starting in November, but the timing of rate increases remains uncertain. In all, the 10-year U.S. treasury yield ticks lower and equity futures are mixed as we head into the market open.
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