U.S. August Job Adds of 187K Vs Estimates for 170K; Unemployment Rate Rises to 3.8%

The U.S. added 187,000 jobs in August versus expectations for 170,000 and up from a downwardly revised 157,000 in July (revised from 187,000).

The unemployment rate for August was 3.8% versus forecasts for 3.5% and last month's 3.5%.

The price of bitcoin (BTC) was little-changed at just above $26,000 in the minutes following Friday morning's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Traditional markets, however, are reacting, with U.S. stock index futures moving higher, while the greenback and Treasury yields slip lower.

It's been a rough week for bitcoin, which surged to above $28,000 Tuesday following Grayscale's court victory over the SEC in that company's quest to convert its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot bitcoin ETF. As has been typical of rallies for several months now, bitcoin quickly began reversing those gains. The reversal turned into a full plunge on Thursday, with bitcoin falling more than 4% and below $26,000 as the SEC delayed making decisions on a multiple spot bitcoin ETF applications, including those from BlackRock and Fidelity.

With ETF hopes shelved for what could me many more months, bitcoin bulls might be looking to a softening in the economy and thus lower interest rates as a possible catalyst. While this morning's report provided some interest in the form of a rising unemployment rate and a downward revision to July's job additions, bitcoin, so far, is showing no positive reaction.

Checking other report details, average hourly earnings were higher by 0.2% in August against forecasts for 0.3% and down from 0.4% in July. On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings were up 4.3% in August versus forecasts for 4.4% and down from 4.4% in July.

The CME FedWatch Tool continues to show traders fully expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to remain on hold at its September meeting. The odds of a rate hike at the early November meeting remain at about a one-in-three chance.