The Bureau of Labor Statistics remains inactive due to the government shutdown. Wall Street indicators are signaling trouble in the job market, with September payroll gains at just 17,000 and private payrolls falling by 32,000, the steepest drop since 2023. Employment continues to shrink, with more companies cutting jobs than adding.

Consumers are growing wary, with rising perceived odds of job loss and expectations of higher unemployment ahead. Goldman Sachs’ measure of labor-market tightness has slipped back to 2015-like conditions. Despite these warnings, state jobless claims remain low, suggesting layoffs are not widespread at the moment.

Even with gold prices surging, mortgage applications slipping, and personal bankruptcies spiking, major indexes continue to flirt with new record highs. It seems like there’s a collective feeling of a slowdown that hasn’t quite materialized yet, creating an uneasy pause between the past economic boom and an uncertain future.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Private data shows weakening job market even as stocks soar