The U.S. labor market appears to have continued to soften in recent months as the government caught up to reports that had been delayed due to the shutdown in D.C.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 64,000 in November, according to a Tuesday morning report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economist estimates had been for jobs growth of 50,000.
The November unemployment rate rose to a four-year high of 4.6%, versus expectations of 4.4% and 4.4% in September.
For October, the economy saw jobs decline by 105,000 versus 119,000 added in September. The negative October print, however, was surely influenced by the government shutdown.
Taken together, the reports paint at least a modestly weaker picture of the employment situation than had been expected.
The price of bitcoin gave back some of its small overnight gains in the minutes following the report, dipping to $87,000. U.S. stock index futures swung from small gains to small losses and the 10-year Treasury yield was steady at 4.17%.
Ahead of the data, markets were pricing in a 75% probability that the Federal Reserve would hold rates steady at its January meeting. Those odds remained the same shortly following the release.