August spending rises 0.9%; core PCE increases 0.2%

Review dated GDP and personal-income observations; read the original release for revisions and other measures.

The BLS reported on October 2 that total nonfarm payroll employment rose 29,000 in September, while unemployment increased 0.1 percentage point to 4.2%. That was below the 90,000 median in Reuters’ survey of economists. BLS revised July from +21,000 to −10,000 and August from +162,000 to +133,000, a combined reduction of 60,000. Average hourly earnings were up 3.0% over the year. Financial activities employment fell 7,000 in September; the category is broader than banking.

The Nasdaq gained 0.45% over the five sessions through October 2, while the S&P 500 fell 0.27%, the Dow declined 1.26% and the Russell 2000 slipped 0.16%. The 2-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points and the 10-year yield increased 11 basis points from the prior Friday.

The third estimate puts second-quarter real GDP growth at a 2.2% annual rate, up from 1.5% in the second estimate. Consumer spending, investment and exports contributed; the annual update also revised earlier national and regional accounts.