• The Dow Jones fell another 400 points on Friday after NFP jobs data missed the mark.
• US job additions continue to underperform, and downside revisions remain a concern.
• Despite the miss in NFP employment, market bets for a 25 bps cut come out on top.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) shed 400 points on Friday after US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) came in below expectations, alongside a downard revision to previous figures. Lopsided jobs growth has dropped further signals that the US economy is slowing down, but not slow enough to spark firmer bets of a double cut from the Federal Reserve (Fed) later this month.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), US NFP employment rose 142K in August, less than the expected 160K but improved from the previous month, which was also revised lower to just 89K from the initial print of 114K. Despite the overall negative tone in jobs figures, US Average Hourly Earnings rose faster than expected, climbing 3.8% YoY in August, beating the expected 3.7% and rising from the previous period’s 3.6%.

The August NFP jobs report showed a weaker-than-expected pickup in the number of hirings for the month, helping to keep rate cut bets buoyed. However, markets had a hard time drawing a bead on where the overall jobs report landed. The headline number of job additions, despite missing forecasts, was still up from the previous period, but the underlying trend within the jobs report showed most of those gains in employment came from leisure and hospitality, and health care and social assistance.