Job growth reportedly missed expectations in September amid aggressive efforts by the Federal Reserve to slow inflation. This indirectly appears to have started to affect hiring, the Labor Department reported on Friday.
The NFP data reading rose 263,000 for September compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 275,000. The unemployment rate is 3.5% compared to the forecast of 3.7% as the labor force participation rate continues to decline.
September's NFP figure marked a deceleration from the 315,000 increase recorded in August and it also indirectly recorded the lowest monthly increase since April 2021.
In closely watched wage figures, average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in the month, in line with estimates, and 5% from a year ago, an increase that was still well above pre-pandemic norms but 0.1 percentage point below forecasts.
Stock market futures moved lower after the release while government bond yields rose. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against six major currencies, began trading lower after the report was released. However, it remains strong at the trading level of 112.59. Bitcoin also marked the fall by falling below the $20,000 level.
