In this edition, we'll cover the latest economic news, stock market & mortgage rate news this past week.

Employers added fewer jobs than expected in September

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics released the September jobs report on Friday. It showed that the U.S. economy added just 29,000 jobs in September, well below the 90,000 economists surveyed expected. Hiring also slowed sharply from August’s revised gain of 133,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% from 4.1% the previous month. The disappointing figures suggest employers remain cautious about expanding their workforces and could give the Federal Reserve reason to pause further interest rate increases. However, part of the rise in unemployment reflected more people entering the workforce, rather than a broad increase in layoffs.

Fed’s preferred inflation gauge came in below expectations

This week’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation report offered some encouraging news, with prices rising 0.3% in August, below economists’ expectations of 0.4%. Annual inflation stood at 3.4%, while core inflation, which excludes food and energy, was 3.0%. Consumer spending also rose a strong 0.9%, suggesting the economy continued to hold up despite higher borrowing costs. The milder inflation reading could give the Federal Reserve room to hold interest rates steady, although inflation remains above its 2% target.