The official numbers show that the U.S. job market has proved sturdy in the face of one shock after another – President Donald Trump’s trade wars, persistent inflation, high interest rates, and a conflict with Iran that has sent gasoline prices rocketing higher, squeezing family budgets.
When the Labor Department releases hiring and unemployment numbers for September, they’re likely to be solid once again: Forecasters surveyed by the data firm FactSet expect that employers – businesses, government agencies and nonprofits – added 90,000 jobs last month and that unemployment remained low at 4.1%.
