US September Payrolls Miss Badly at 29K, Cooling Rate-Hike Bets as Stocks Rally
The US Labor Department's September payrolls report on October 2 missed badly: just 29,000 jobs added versus 90,000 expected; August revised down from 162,000 to 133,000; unemployment ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%. Wage growth also disappointed, with average hourly earnings up just 0.1% month over month.
The report is the last major jobs data before the Fed's October meeting. Rate-hike expectations cooled sharply — CME FedWatch put the odds of no change in October at 77%. Stocks rallied across the board: the Dow up 0.5%, S&P 500 up 0.7%, Nasdaq up 1.2%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging 2.4%.
Analysts called it a Goldilocks print — not too hot, not too cold. Goldman Sachs expects the Fed to hold in October. But Middle East spillover, high energy prices and tariff policy could still hit the labor market late this year into 2027.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：弗吉尼亚州水晶城建筑工地上的工人。摄影：Carol M. Highsmith，CC0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
