Economy adds 528K jobs in August; unemployment rate back to pre-pandemic levels
The S&P 500's bullish momentum continued this week as another round of jobs data reassured investors the U.S. labor market is still booming.
On Friday, the Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added 528,000 jobs in August, more than double economist estimates of 258,000 jobs. The 3.5% U.S. unemployment rate is now back to pre-pandemic levels and the economy has fully recovered all the jobs it lost during the COVID-19 shutdowns.
Senate Democrats appear to have enough votes to pass their Inflation Reduction Act, which includes a 1% tax on stock buybacks. The latest version of the bill reportedly does not close the so-called carried interest tax loophole, which allows hedge funds and private equity investors to pay lower tax rates.
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Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase traded higher by nearly 50% this week, boosted by news of a new partnership with asset manager BlackRock. Coinbase will provide BlackRock customers direct access to cryptocurrencies via Blackrock's Aladdin investment management platform.
U.S. crude oil prices dropped to their lowest level since February on Wednesday before finishing the week at around $90.60 per barrel. Oil prices were pressured by an unexpected increase in U.S. oil and gasoline stockpiles.
Lyftoff
Shares of ride-hailing company Lyft traded higher by more than 12% on Friday after the company reported an unexpected second-quarter profit and said its ridership has reached its highest level since before the pandemic.
In the week ahead, second-quarter earnings season rolls on with reports from American International Group on Monday, Roblox and Coinbase on Tuesday and Walt Disney on Wednesday.
Analysts lowered their S&P 500 third-quarter earnings estimates by an average of 2.5% in the month of July, according to FactSet.
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Economic numbers
In the week ahead, investors will get key economic updates on Wednesday when the U.S. Labor Department releases its July Consumer Price Index reading and on Friday when the University of Michigan releases its preliminary August Consumer Sentiment Index reading.
Benzinga is a financial news and data company headquartered in Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: US economy adds 528K jobs in August; unemployment rate at 3.5%
