The shutdown-delayed September jobs report did not provide clarity on what the FOMC will do at its much-debated December meeting. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 119K in September, topping consensus expectations, but downward revisions to prior months' job growth took some of the shine off of the September number. Furthermore, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.44%, just shy of rounding up to 4.5%. A tick higher in the labor force participation rate suggests some of this unemployment rate increase was driven by better supply growth, but nonetheless it was the highest unemployment rate reading since October 2021 and points ... (full story)