TODAY'S JOB DATA KILLED THE LAST RATE HIKE HOPES. Today, the US unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, its highest level since June 2026. At the same time, the US economy added just 29K jobs, while the expectation was for 90K. Last month, the US economy added 162K jobs, which means the labor market is getting weak at a rapid pace. This week's PCE data already came lower than expected, and now with the labor market getting squeezed, the Fed won't make a mistake of hiking rates.