U.S. Added 336K Jobs in September, Nearly Doubling Expectations; Bitcoin Slips 1%

It was blowout employment data for the economy last month, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday morning reporting 336,000 jobs added in September versus economist forecasts for just 170,00. August’s originally reported 187,000 jobs gained was revised higher to 227,000.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8% and against expectations for a decline to 3.7%.

The price of bitcoin (BTC) fell just shy of 1% in the minutes following the news to $27,530.

Always an important report, this month’s jobs numbers have taken on particular significance given the rout in government bond prices over the past five weeks that’s seen the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rise from just above 4% to as high as 4.80% earlier this week. That sharp rise in rates has taken a sizable chunk out of the stock market, with the Nasdaq lower by about 6% since September 1 and the S&P 500 down a similar amount.

While not necessarily in major rally mode as stock and bond prices have tumbled, bitcoin has managed to hold its own, rising over the same time frame from about $26,000 to $27,700 ahead of this morning’s news.

Shortly following this morning's report, stock and bond prices were headed lower again, with Nasdaq 100 futures down more than 1% and the 10-year Treasury yield higher by eight basis points to just shy of 4.80%. The CME FedWatch tool now shows a 31% chance of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike at its next policy meeting in November. Ahead of the jobs number, it was just 24%.

In other report details, closely followed average hourly earnings were softer than expected, rising 0.2% in September versus forecasts for 0.3% and against August’s 0.2%. On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings were higher by 4.2% versus 4.3% expected and 4.3% last month.