Weak Payrolls Put the Fed’s Next Move Under a Brighter Spotlight

September’s employment signals don’t line up neatly: payrolls rose 29,000, well below the 90,000 consensus, while the household survey showed employment up 406,000 and unemployment at 4.2%. Inflation readings were softer than expected, but headline PCE remained 3.4% and core PCE 3.0%; second-quarter GDP was revised up to 2.2% annualized. That mixed scorecard makes a clear Fed signal harder to find—and a quick call on borrowing costs harder...