Overview

• Job openings edged up by 19,000 to 7.227 million in August while hiring fell by 114,000 to 5.126 million, according to the BLS JOLTS report.
• The Labor and Commerce departments said all economic data releases, including Friday’s employment report, would be suspended if funding lapses at midnight.
• Economists forecast about 45,000 to 51,000 payroll gains for September with the unemployment rate near 4.3%, though the report may be delayed.
• Consumer confidence dropped to 94.2 in September as perceptions of job availability hit a multiyear low and the quits rate slipped to 1.9%.
• The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points in September and could ease again next month, with labor readings taking on added weight after revisions erased roughly 911,000 previously reported jobs.