Bitcoin reversed a large share of its early gains after the U.S. September jobs report came in weaker than expected and pointed to a softer labor market.
According to the U.S. government’s nonfarm payrolls report released Friday morning, the economy added 29,000 jobs in September. That was below the consensus forecast of 90,000 and below August’s revised gain of 133,000. August had originally been reported at 162,000 before the revision.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, versus expectations of 4.1% and August’s reading of 4.1%.
The report also included revisions to prior months. In addition to the August downgrade, July’s payroll figure was revised from a gain of 21,000 jobs to a loss of 10,000.
In the minutes after the release, bitcoin continued to trade just below $87,000, but later gave back its big early move. U.S. stock index futures added to gains, with Nasdaq futures up 1.2%.
Treasuries rallied after the data. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 7 basis points to 5.17%, while the 2-year yield dropped by a similar amount to 4.71%. Gold rose more than 1%, and the U.S. dollar weakened against major currencies.
Wage data also came in soft. Average hourly earnings rose 0.1% in September, well below forecasts for 0.3% and August’s 0.3% increase. On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings were up 3%, compared with expectations for 3.2% and August’s 3.1%.
CoinDesk said the weaker labor market could leave the Federal Reserve with room to hold interest rates steady even as inflation remains elevated.