\n It\u2019s complicated. Let\u2019s break it down.\n <\/p>\n
\n America\u2019s labor market started to stall out in the early summer. Between May and August, job gains averaged 31,000 per month, or about one-fifth the monthly rate seen last year. What happened in September \u2013 the report we just got after a seven-week delay \u2013 is a bit convoluted.\n <\/p>\n
\n The preliminary job gains of 119,000 were more than double the 50,000 net increase economists were expecting. However, unemployment moved higher and the prior months\u2019 employment picture turned murkier: The original payroll numbers for July (79,000) and August (22,000) were revised down to a gain of 72,000 and a loss of 4,000, respectively.\n <\/p>\n
\n All told, the September job growth is a welcome sign that the labor market wasn\u2019t collapsing heading into the shutdown, but the underlying trends haven\u2019t changed much: It\u2019s still a low-hire, low-fire slog with job growth limited to a handful of industries, leaving few opportunities for those who want jobs.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI don\u2019t know that anybody should be cheering about what we saw in the September jobs report,\u201d Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNN in an interview. \u201cI think it\u2019s a relief that it wasn\u2019t worse and that it was (119,000) jobs added; but also remember, almost every number lately has been revised down.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody\u2019s Analytics, said he remains concerned about the health of the job market \u2013 just as concerned as he was prior to Thursday\u2019s report.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe economy is struggling to create jobs. The unemployment rate is low but it\u2019s now showing some stress,\u201d Zandi said, adding that the closer the rate gets to 5%, the greater the risk of a \u201creinforcing negative cycle\u201d that can cause a recession.\n <\/p>\n
Affordability remains in crisis<\/p>\n
\n President Donald Trump and his administration have been under siege after the government shutdown, benefits cuts and Democratic election sweep earlier this month exposed what many Americans have been experiencing for years: the cost of living is too high, and consumers are increasingly fed up.\n <\/p>\n
\n A poll published by Fox News<\/a> this week showed 76% of Americans have a negative view of this economy, up from 67% in July. Only 15% of respondents said Trump\u2019s policies are helping their financial situation, and 46% said they are hurting \u2013 a gap similar to polling at the end of former President Joe Biden\u2019s term, right before voters booted Democrats from the White House.\n <\/p>\n \n People are making real changes to their spending habits: Home Depot<\/a> and Target<\/a> posted worse-than-expected earnings earlier this week and slashed their forecasts, saying that consumers are making fewer visits and spending less when they shop.\n <\/p>\n \n Chipotle<\/a>, Coca-Cola, Crocs and a host of other consumer brands have made similar comments: American households that bring in less than $100,000 are struggling with already high prices and still-stubborn inflation, and they are pulling back on spending. But people who earn more are more insulated, benefiting from a surging stock market and rising home values.\n <\/p>\n \n That so-called K-shaped economy<\/a> explains some of the nuance in the overall state of the US economy \u2013 and why Walmart blew past Wall Street\u2019s already-robust forecasts. Walmart said its fastest-growing segment of customers was made up of people earning more than $100,000 \u2013 those who were willing to spend money but were searching for value.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cPeople\u2019s financial situations are getting squeezed,\u201d Long said. \u201cIt\u2019s harder to find work. And for people who have jobs, their income is not rising much faster than inflation. It\u2019s this treading water feeling for the middle class right now, and that\u2019s the part I don\u2019t see changing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The stock market is decidedly not always representative of the broader economy, but its strength or weakness can influence how people perceive it. When fears of an AI bubble dragged down the stock market over the past several weeks, that weakness may have contributed to increasingly negative sentiment about the economy.\n <\/p>\n \n It started late last month when Palantir, a company that uses AI for government contract work, reported a weaker-than-expected forecast. AI stocks, which have propped up the broader market for several years, started to sink.\n <\/p>\n \n But that ended \u2013 at least for now \u2013 after Nvidia\u2019s earnings<\/a> late Wednesday proved that demand for its industry-leading AI chips hadn\u2019t evaporated. In fact, demand has continued to surge. The company\u2019s earnings beat Wall Street\u2019s expectations, sending the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the broader market roaring back to life Thursday.\n <\/p>\n \n Wall Street basically has no idea. After the Dow gained 700 points earlier Thursday, it gave up all those gains and fell more than 200 points by midday. Even economists are confused.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThis morning\u2019s employment report is adding more confusion than clarity to an exceedingly foggy backdrop,\u201d said Mike Reid, RBC\u2019s senior US economist.\n <\/p>\n \n That could complicate matters for the Federal Reserve. It may look at Thursday\u2019s jobs data and earnings with a glass-half-full view and determine that the economy doesn\u2019t need an interest-rate cut in December. That appeared to be the direction the Fed was heading anyway, after October policy meeting minutes<\/a> released on Wednesday showed deep skepticism about a December rate cut. But that could in turn could keep consumer loans like mortgages and auto loans high, too.\n <\/p>\n \n Alternatively, the Fed may look at the rising unemployment rate, overall hiring slowdown in the summer and weakness across multiple sectors and determine the economy needs some more juice. But that could exacerbate some of America\u2019s inflation concerns.\n <\/p>\n What is the k-shaped economy?\n <\/p>\n What is the k-shaped economy?<\/p>\n 1:15 <\/p>\n \n Similarly, your personal financial situation influences how you view this economy. If you have a high-paying job in a field that\u2019s relatively insulated from layoffs, you may be feeling great and spending a lot now. If you don\u2019t\u2026 you probably aren\u2019t.\n <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ap25319825834671.jpg\")
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