Bitcoin extended its earlier advance after the September U.S. jobs report showed a sharp slowdown in employment growth. BTC remained just below $87,000, gaining more than 2% over the previous 24 hours.
U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September, according to the Nonfarm Payrolls Report released Friday. The increase was well below the 90,000 consensus estimate and marked a significant slowdown from August’s revised 133,000 gain. August payroll growth was initially reported at 162,000.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, topping both the 4.1% market forecast and August’s 4.1% reading.
Previous months also received downward revisions. July’s reported addition of 21,000 jobs was revised to a loss of 10,000, further indicating that recent labor-market conditions were weaker than earlier estimates suggested.
The softer employment figures could give the Federal Reserve greater flexibility to maintain its current interest-rate stance despite continued inflation pressures.
Bitcoin was already trading higher before the report and remained close to $87,000 in the minutes following its release. U.S. equity futures moved higher as well, with Nasdaq futures gaining 1.2%.
Treasury yields declined following the report. The benchmark 10-year yield fell 7 basis points to 5.17%, while the two-year yield dropped by the same amount to 4.71%. Gold advanced more than 1%, while the U.S. dollar weakened against major currencies.
Wage growth was also weaker than expected. Average hourly earnings increased 0.1% in September, compared with forecasts for a 0.3% gain and August’s 0.3% increase.
On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings rose 3%, below the 3.2% consensus estimate and August’s 3.1% reading.
