Jobs Report Today: BLS Experiences ‘Technical Difficulties’ Ahead Of Data Release

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday flagged that it is experiencing “technical difficulties” ahead of the release of the August jobs report.

“Sorry, we are currently experiencing technical difficulties. All BLS data retrieval tools will be available as soon as we've resolved the problem,” the bureau said in a statement on its website.

The August employment report is slated to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. It is unclear whether the BLS will release the report on schedule or if it will be delayed.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities edged up in Friday’s pre-market trade. At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 0.09%, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.51%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits was in the ‘bullish’ territory.

Update: The BLS website is working normally, and the August jobs report is now live.

According to BLS data, nonfarm payroll additions in August stood at 22,000, significantly lower than the expected 75,000. Unemployment rate also ticked up for the second consecutive month to 4.3%, from 4.2% in July and 4.1% in June. A Thursday report showed jobless claims for the week ended August 30 stood at the highest level since June.

People who currently want a job but don’t have one stood at 6.4 million in August, up from 6.18 million in July, and 6.03 million in June. The BLS jobs report also revealed that while health care and social assistance continued to trend up in payroll additions, the federal government jobs continued to decline.

Also See: Dow Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Crucial August Jobs Report: TSLA, AVGO, LULU, DOCU Among Stocks To Watch

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