Strong September Job Growth in U.S. Surprises, While Bitcoin Sees Minor Dip

Last month's employment data presented an impressive performance for the economy, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They revealed an addition of 336,000 jobs in September, significantly surpassing economist predictions of 170,000. Moreover, the initially reported 187,000 jobs gained in August was revised upward to 227,000.

Although the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.8%, contrary to expectations of a decline to 3.7%, the news had an immediate impact on Bitcoin's price. The cryptocurrency experienced a nearly 1% dip to $27,530 in the moments following the announcement.

Given the recent turbulence in government bond prices, with the 10-year Treasury note's yield rising from just above 4% to as high as 4.80% earlier in the week, this month's job numbers carry significant weight. This sharp surge in rates resulted in notable losses in the stock market, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both declining by about 6% since September 1.

Despite the upheaval in stock and bond prices, Bitcoin has demonstrated resilience. Over the same period, it managed to maintain its position, experiencing a rise from approximately $26,000 to $27,700 just ahead of this morning's news.

Following the report, stock and bond prices experienced another downturn. Nasdaq 100 futures were down by over 1%, and the 10-year Treasury yield rose by eight basis points, coming close to 4.80%. The CME FedWatch tool now indicates a 31% probability of a U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike in the upcoming November policy meeting. This figure was at 24% before the jobs report.

In terms of average hourly earnings, a closely monitored metric, the results were slightly below expectations. Earnings rose by 0.2% in September, while forecasts predicted a 0.3% increase. On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings were up by 4.2%, falling just short of the expected 4.3% and the previous month's 4.3% figure.

Read more: Crypto Funding Trends: Q3 2023 Insights