US Hiring Accelerates as Europe Battles Rising Inflation

The US jobs market showed resilience in August, with hiring accelerating across most sectors. Employment growth was not limited to services, but also picked up pace in industries such as manufacturing and construction.

This trend is consistent with steady capital spending on equipment and the buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure. As a result, August's payrolls exceeded forecasts, with the biggest monthly increase in five months. The jobless rate remained at 4.1%.

In the services sector, activity picked up by the most in half a year, driven by strong demand and business activity. ISM's new orders and prices indexes reached multi-year highs, with new orders growing at the quickest clip since early 2023 and business activity reaching its strongest level since 2022.

In Europe, year-over-year inflation rose to 3.3% in August, its highest reading since September 2023. This strengthens the argument for a European Central Bank rate hike next week. In contrast, Asia posted solid growth last quarter, despite an oil-market shock tied to the Iran war.