Hurricanes take their toll on US employment

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have taken their toll on the US jobs market, which suffered its first monthly decline in nearly seven years, figures yesterday revealed.

The US labour department said 33,000 jobs were lost in September because of the storms, which closed thousands of businesses in Texas and Florida and forced widespread evacuations.

However, the two hurricanes did not affect the unem- ployment rate, which came in at 4.2 per cent – the lowest since February 2001. Hiring is expected to rebound as businesses in the area reopen and constructioncompaniesramp up repair work.

Marcus Bullus, trading director at MB Capital, said: “Traders were pricing in a weak print given the severe disruption caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and even though it came in far worse than expected the markets will go into the weekend feeling there is no reason to panic.”