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All Signs Point to Soft U.S. Jobs Report After Run of Weak Data
Storm clouds developed quickly over the U.S. labor market this week. The lowest manufacturing jobs gauge since 2016. Slower private hiring. A sharp drop in small-business hiring plans. And the worst U.S. services-employment index in five years, or nine years, depending on which measure you prefer. That’s the backdrop from three days of disappointing data heading into Friday’s September jobs report from the Labor Department. Analysts are bracing for more downbeat figures, with their pessimism for payrolls on par with times when hurricanes slammed the country in 2017 or when the federal government shut down in ... (full story)