The latest snapshot of the US job market offers a reminder that economic signals can be frustratingly ambiguous. A jump in hiring in September ~ more than double what forecasters anticipated ~ suggests resilience in the world’s largest economy. Yet, that optimistic headline is quickly complicated by the simultaneous rise in unemployment and a string of sizable layoff announcements from marquee employers.

It is a labour market neither strong enough to inspire confidence nor weak enough to demand urgent intervention, a system stuck in suspended animation. Part of the problem is the data vacuum created by the lengthy government shutdown, which paused official reporting and left policymakers and markets guessing. Now, even with figures in hand, much remains foggy. Recent hiring gains were concentrated in familiar pockets: healthcare, restaurants, and bars. These are sectors that thrive when people are going out, getting sick, and growing older, hardly........

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