Trading speculation that a rise in the unemployment rate in the US would prevent the Federal Reserve from tightening monetary policy led to a rise in stocks on Friday.
230 points, or 0.7%, were added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite saw increases of 0.7%.
According to the most recent U.S. nonfarm payrolls figures, the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.8% in August, the highest level in more than a year. The 3.5% level was what economists had anticipated.
Average hourly earnings rose 4.29% year over year, less than the 4.4% growth predicted by economists surveyed by Dow Jones, which is further indication of a weakening economy and easing pricing pressures.
With 187,000 new hires in August, payroll growth outpaced expectations. However, the initial estimates of employment for June and July were reduced by a total of 110,000 jobs.
Source (CNBC)
