US stock indices are actively declining at the beginning of trading on Friday, investors are evaluating data on the state of the US labor market for September.

Labor Department data showed that the number of jobs in the United States economy increased by 263,000 in September, the slowest pace since April 2021.

Experts on average expected an increase of 250-255 thousand. Meanwhile, unemployment fell to 3.5% last month compared to 3.7% in August. This came as a surprise to analysts who did not expect the indicator to change.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that the labor market is playing a critical role in the battle against inflation,” wrote Steve Rick, senior economist at CUNA Mutual Group. “If unemployment remains low, employers will increase wages to attract valuable talent, which will increase disposable ability, in turn, will lead to increased demand for goods and services, push up prices and force the Federal Reserve to raise rates even higher.

In addition, investors are evaluating the statements of the Federal Reserve Board.

Thus, Fed Board member Lisa Cook said that inflation in the United States turned out to be more stable than expected. This, according to her, is a strong argument for the Fed to raise the rate to a level that limits economic activity.

Another member of the Board of Governors of the US Central Bank – Christopher Waller – said that the Fed will continue to raise rates at the beginning of next year, even if it sees signs that the economy is slowing growth, curbing inflation.