Anemic, Meager, Lame: Pick Your Jobs Report Adjective
- David Halseth
- Sep 7
- 2 min read
For the week ended 9/6/2025.
Welcome back after our Labor Day breather. Let’s jump straight into the skillet.
Consumer confidence took a dip in August as Americans continue to marvel (or wince) at the cost of everything, from stadium beers to Costco checkout totals that look suspiciously like a down payment on a car. But the headliner today is the jobs report, which came in… let’s just say limp. August delivered a paltry 22,000 new jobs. Yes, for the entire country. Adding insult to injury, July was revised down to a loss of 13,000 – the first negative print since December 2020.
Put it in perspective: over the last four months, we’ve added just 107,000 jobs total. That’s about what we used to average in less than a single month in 2024. Nearly all of August’s hiring was in healthcare and social services – fields buoyed by government spending – while old-school industries like autos, transportation, and raw materials took it square on the chin.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up again, hitting 4.3% (July was 4.2%, June 4.1%… you see the pattern).
And yet, markets shrugged it off with the grace of a pickleball champion in the HOA finals. Domestic stocks rose 40 bps, foreign shares added 70 bps, and the bond market stole the show with a 90 bps gain. Year-to-date, equities still lead, though only cash and foreign bonds are at risk of trailing inflation.
This week’s biggie: Thursday’s CPI report. Powell & Co. are praying for cooler inflation so they can deliver a hefty rate cut and maybe get out of Trump’s Twitter crosshairs. If not, expect more fireworks.
And one final public service announcement: if you’re the University of Colorado and your idea of “pre-game tradition” involves a domesticated buffalo sprinting around a football field, have a backup plan. Teams have second strings. Broadway shows have understudies. You get the idea. No excuses, no whining.
Good morning.
Interesting data point of the week.
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