Starting with the labor market, through August, payroll job gains averaged 170,000 per month this year, down only a little from the average pace of gains in 2016 and still well above estimates of the pace necessary to absorb new entrants to the labor force.
In September, payrolls were reported to have declined 33,000, but that weakness reflected the effects of Hurricane Irma, which hit Florida during the reference week for the September labor market surveys. I would expect employment to bounce back in subsequent months as communities recover and people return to their jobs. Other aspects of the jobs report for September were strong.