The US added a surprisingly high 119,000 non-farm jobs in September, making the Fed's interest rate decision more complex.

On November 20th, the UK Financial Times reported that the US September nonfarm payrolls report showed an unexpected rebound in the US labor market, which complicated the Federal Reserve's decision on whether to cut interest rates next month. The September addition of nonfarm payrolls released on Thursday was 119,000 people, which was not only higher than the 50,000 people predicted by surveyed economists but also significantly higher than the revised 22,000 people in August. The unemployment rate rose from 4.3% in August to 4.4%, reaching a new high since 2021. This report is the first economic health indicator released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics since the record-breaking US federal government shutdown interrupted the publication of official data. The unexpectedly positive data will strengthen the position of hawkish members of the Federal Open Market Committee, who have been constantly warning the Federal Reserve against cutting interest rates too quickly. After the data was released, US bond yields and the US dollar index both declined. Despite President Trump's long-term pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut rates, there is a deep division within the central bank: some advocate continuing to cut rates at the December meeting to support the labor market, while others are concerned about the potential inflation risks. The government shutdown has made the Federal Reserve's decision-making even more difficult - with routine economic report releases interrupted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Wednesday that due to the shutdown-related data collection delays, it will no longer release the October employment report separately, and some data will be combined and released in the November report. (FXStreet)