Dow Jones Shrugs Off Alarming Jobs Report as Payroll Gains Snap 53-Month Streak

Wall Street's favorite index just yawned at economic reality.

Ignoring the Data

Dow Jones brushed aside the first payroll contraction in over four years—because why let actual numbers disrupt a perfectly good narrative?

The Streak Breaks

Fifty-three months of consecutive gains vanished. Yet traditional markets keep dancing like nothing's changed.

Finance's Selective Vision

Another reminder: legacy systems see what they want to see. Meanwhile, crypto markets price real-time risk—without the blinders.

Wake-up call? More like snooze button for the old guard.

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the U.S. added just 22,000 nonfarm payrolls in August, far below the estimate of 75,000 in the latest sign that the jobs market is cooling. In addition, July’s reading was revised higher by 6,000 to 79,000, while June’s reading fell to a loss of 13,000 after a downward revision of 27,000 jobs. June’s negative reading ends a 53-month streak of rising payrolls, according to the Wall Street Journal chief economic correspondent Nick Timiraos.

Markets Eye Fed Cut as Job Gains Sink to Lowest Since Covid

Meanwhile, August’s unemployment rate ROSE to 4.3% from 4.2% as expected. At the same time, that marks the highest rate since October 2021.

“The warning bell that rang in the labor market a month ago just got louder,” said Fitch Ratings head of economic research Olu Sonola. “A weaker-than-expected jobs report all but seals a 25-basis-point rate cut later this month.”

For the three months ended August, the U.S. has added an average of 29,000 jobs per month, the lowest rate since the Covid pandemic.