Economic Data Keeping Pressure on Mortgage Rates

The jobs report that came out at the beginning of October was a big wake up call for interest rates .  Up until then, the prevailing belief was that the labor market was progressively softening and perhaps at risk of softening too quickly.  The Federal Reserve had singled out the jobs market as an indicator that would dictate the pace of the rate cut cycle that had begun just 2 weeks earlier.   Much of the Fed's decision to opt for a 0.50% cut as opposed to a 0.25% cut had to do with the previous 2 jobs reports (the one that came out in early August and September).  Both were markedly weaker.  Taken together, they tipped the scales for the Fed.   The early October jobs report not only came in much stronger than expected, but it also revised the previous 2 reports quite a bit higher