The market finished higher yesterday, with retail favorites leading the way, including Palantir Technologies (PLTR), which struggled on Wednesday.

Better Breadth, But

Huge upside volume on the NASDAQ Composite, but more new lows than new highs.

S&P 500 (SPX) is on the cusp of a breakout that would trigger additional buying.

Jobs Report

I’m focused on labor force participation, which has been a disaster. Fed watchers will focus on wages because the trend has been so low that it would be tough to justify rate hikes.

 

Today’s Session

August Nonfarm payrolls came in at 165k, nearly three times ahead of expectations of +55k. The increase was led by a bounce back in Leisure & Hospitality, while government and education reversed much of July’s losses.

Labor force bounced +683k, bringing the rate back up to 61.65% from 61.4%. Labor force participation also increased for men and women.

Following the results, the CME Fedwatch raised the odds of a 25-bps rake hike back at 60%.

Futures were mixed, but the strength is concentrated in semiconductors.

Comments

Can you see the source of the Government jobs? A few months ago the number was up but it was state gov jobs -not federal gov. Big difference. Thanks. Steve Fifer on 9/4/2026 10:45:05 AM

State government employment fell about 10k jobs in August continuing a soft patch for that sector. Local government did the heavy lifting in August for the government total-local government education +42k-. State government hiring has modestly been flat to declining since late 2025 and the last time it added jobs was in July 2026. Karina Hernandez on 9/4/2026 11:32:58 AM

So not federal - thanks! Steve Fifer on 9/4/2026 1:05:57 PM

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