The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics again reported stronger-than-expected jobs growth, with its Oct. 7 report showing that the U.S. economy added 263,000 jobs during September. With that figure slightly beating analyst expectations, stock markets were down on the fear the numbers may spur future interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
“Today's employment report was terrific, which in this upside-down, inside-out economic environment means that it was truly terrible,” said Anirban Basu, chief economist for the Associated Builders and Contractors, summing up BLS' good news/bad news report: