Jobs
US Jobs Rise While Unemployment Drops, Keeping Pressure on Fed
- Payrolls climbed 263,000 last month, jobless rate fell to 3.5%
- Data reaffirms traders’ bets for another big Fed rate hike
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The US labor market stayed strong in September as the unemployment rate unexpectedly returned to an historic low, leaving the inflation-phobic Federal Reserve on course to deliver yet another aggressive interest-rate hike.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 263,000 in September after a 315,000 gain in August, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, matching a five-decade low. Average hourly earnings rose firmly.