- Bitcoin fell below $70,000 after a weak U.S. jobs report showed only 12,000 jobs created in October.
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the lowest job creation since December 2020.
- The weak jobs report, compounded by hurricane impacts and a major worker strike, has raised fears of a potential recession.
Bitcoin fell below the $70,000 margin this Friday after news arose of an extremely weak jobs report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The world’s largest cryptocurrency started the day trading at $70,090. Things looked promising for investors as only a couple hours later BTC had jumped by 1.92% – reaching $71,441.
However, only a couple of hours later Bitcoin would plunge by 3.6%, reaching the value of $68,823 at its daily lowest point. CoinMarketCap data shows that the currency is currently trading at $69,218 – still about $800.00 short of regaining the $70k zone.
Weak Jobs Report
The Labor Department released today the data regarding the number of new jobs created in October. Market anticipations expected a number of around 100,000 jobs created in that timeframe. However, this month’s report showcased a stark contrast to predictions.
The United States generated only 12,000 jobs in October, the lowest mark since December 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic. This minuscule amount contrasts even more when compared to September 2024, when the U.S. created 223,000 new jobs during that month.
Fears of a recession are already gaining body after this unprecedented result. After all, it could even lead the Federal Reserve to rethink its interest-cutting strategy adopted in this year’s second half
However, there is a more logical explanation as to why America failed to keep its job creation rate in October. The country was struck by not one, but two major hurricanes that left millions of Americans without power, or even home.
On top of that, October was marked by a major strike by Boeing Union workers from Seattle in a dispute about wages and working conditions. Boeing’s strike alone resulted in the decline of 46,000 jobs in manufacturing employment.
On November 7th, the Federal Reserve will get together once again to announce America’s new (or not) interest rates. Only on that date, we will be able to get a sense of whether the government truly considers October’s job report a sign of precaution – or only a one-off thing caused by outside conditions.
