Economic data spotlight: US jobless claims to test whether weak payrolls are turning into layoffs - investingLive

The softer US jobs report on Friday last week continues to paint a softer picture of the labour market, yet there is still one part of the story that doesn't seem to line up. The September non-farm payrolls rose by just 29k, well below expectations of 90k, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%. Meanwhile, July and August were also revised down by a combined 60k and wage growth slowed to just 0.1% on the month. That's a clear enough signal that hiring is losing momentum. But so far, that weakness hasn’t translated into any meaningful rise in layoffs. US initial jobless claims fell to 197k in the previous week, leaving them close to their lowest levels in decades.