Money Minute Friday 4 October: counting jobs and oil rigs

published 4 October 2019

In the US this afternoon, we get the all-important employment figures for last month.The two most important figures are the number of new employees hired, and the rate of wage inflation.

Markets currently expect around 140,000 staff to have been added to payrolls, while wage growth is expected to come in at an annual rate of 3.2%, the same as in August.If the figures beat market expectations, that will make it harder for the Federal Reserve to justify cutting interest rates further. If they miss, it will make it easier.However, given current elevated fears of recession, markets may well be happier with a forecast-beating result.

Also out later in the US is the weekly Baker Hughes oil rig count.This shows how many oil and gas drilling rigs are being used across the US and Canada. This gives an overview of activity in the oil and gas sector.The number of rigs in use has fallen in each of the last five weeks, and is at its lowest since April 2017.