This week, employment reports significantly favored cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin 
$76,351 successfully defending its $108,000 support level. Today’s release of three major U.S. data points represents some of September’s most critical reports. Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, and his colleagues have been signaling that these data points will play a crucial role in finalizing interest rate decisions for September.
Breaking Down the U.S. Data
The much-anticipated data released today include the U.S. Unemployment Rate, Non-Farm Employment Change, and Average Earnings reports. Each of these metrics serves as a key indicator of the United States employment market. Last month, at the Jackson Hole meeting, Powell surprised many by dismissing Producer Price Index (PPI) increases and highlighting the decline in employment.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which prepares many of these reports, recently made seemingly nonsensical revisions. These revisions led to allegations that deteriorating employment figures were concealed to prevent interest rate cuts. At the time of writing, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Lutnick remarked, “BLS needs new management; there are issues there.”
Employment Data and Its Impact on Cryptos
Returning to the numbers, the expectations versus actual figures were as follows:
- U.S. Unemployment Rate: Actual 4.3% (Expectation: 4.3%, Previous: 4.2%)
- U.S. Non-Farm Employment: Actual 22K (Expectation: 75K, Previous: 73K)
- U.S. Average Earnings: Actual 3.7% (Expectation: 3.8%, Previous: 3.9%)
The dismal employment data spelled good news for cryptocurrencies, and with the report’s release, Bitcoin managed to break past $113,000.
With the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut now certain, a rally in altcoins could accelerate in the coming hours.
