US nonfarm payrolls rose by 136K in September, while the payroll number for August was revised upward to 168K. This means the 6-month average growth in payroll is now just over 150K, which is more than decent given the current phase of the economic cycle.
It also shows that the US economy is not falling off a cliff, as may have been suggested by the poor ISM data recorded last week. The ISM data will likely force the Federal Reserve to cut rates again as early as this month, providing more liquidity, which generally tends to benefit equity markets. This could turn out to be a typical example of climbing the wall of worry, where some of these worries, such as Brexit, impeachment, earnings and growth slowdown, are gradually reduced thanks to central banks stimulating around the globe.
