WSJ What’s News - An Underwhelming Jobs Report Sends Stocks Higher

Episode Date: October 2, 2026

P.M. Edition for Oct. 2. The U.S. economy added 29,000 jobs last month, falling short of expectations. Journal economics reporter Konrad Putzier discusses why that's a more solid number than it may seem… and what it means for the Fed’s next meeting later this month. Plus, the G-7 countries agree to release 100 million barrels of diesel and oil to help ease soaring prices. We hear from reporter Matthew Dalton about why that seems to end the threat of a U.S. ban on diesel exports, at least for now. And the Journal has learned that Oman had previously banned the FlyDubai attacker from flying over his radical views. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

September hiring fell short of expectations, but the job market's still pretty steady. We'll get into what that means for the Federal Reserve. This basically solidifies the idea that the Fed's probably not going to raise rates at its next meeting. Plus, G7 countries will release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil in an effort to keep prices in check. And we now know what the combination of Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery will be called. It's Friday, October 2nd. I'm Alex O'Sullough for the Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

More news is coming out in the investigations into the Fly Dubai flight bound for Israel that was nearly downed earlier this week. We're exclusively reporting that the Fly Dubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain had previously been banned from flying by Oman. The Journal understands that the ban was over concerns that the pilot, an Omani National, had a adopted radical ideological views. Fly Dubai hired the pilot despite the ban. The airline and Oman's government didn't respond to request for comment, and it couldn't be determined whether Oman had shared concerns about the pilot's radicalization with other countries or airlines. The nature of the pilot's radicalization also couldn't be learned. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior foreign policy advisor in the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Gargash, both said that what

happened was terrorism. Other officials haven't gone as far as far as. far in defining the attack. Saudi Arabia said the co-pilot assaulted the captain but didn't suggest a motive. In other international news, the group of seven major economies has agreed to release 100 million barrels of crude oil and fuel from their emergency stocks within four months. They're also not going to restrict oil exports. Diesel prices have soared because of the wars in Iran and Ukraine, squeezing businesses, farmers, and households, and putting pressure on governments to act. Releasing the stocks is an effort to bring down those cause. And Matthew Dalton, who covers energy for the journal in Paris, said this agreement effectively

heads off an export ban on U.S. diesel, which President Trump had supported, but that analysts warned could have a catastrophic impact on global supplies. The Trump administration essentially took this opportunity to pressure the agreements to do more, and the administration gave some assurances that it would not do a ban on U.S. TV exports. U.S. energy companies have had a lot of talks that the White House going to explain how an export ban would actually potentially raise prices in the U.S., which would be really bad for U.S. drivers. U.S. hiring slowed last month. The economy added 29,000 jobs.

That's about a third of the jobs that economists predicted. And the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2 percent from 4.1%. 29,000 jobs is historically low. It's nothing like the 200,000 jobs we were seeing added every month before the pandemic. But WSJ economics reporter Conrad Putsier says September's jobs report actually shows the labor market is pretty steady. What economists are saying is that this is an okay jobs report. And the key number that economists look at, of course, is the unemployment rate, which went up slightly to 4.2%, but is mostly unchanged. And that is really a clear signal that this is overall a stable, healthy job market that isn't really adding a lot of new.

positions, but doesn't really need to add a lot of positions to keep the unemployment rate stable. Conrad says these numbers, along with comments this week from Fed officials, including vice chair Philip Jefferson, and New York Fed President John Williams, suggesting that a rate height can wait, mean it's looking more likely that the central bank would hold off on raising rates again at its meeting late this month. This basically solidifies the idea that the Fed's probably not going to raise rates at its next meeting. If there were real signs that wages are surging and the labor market's super hot, that would have really increased pressure on the Fed to raise rates to fight inflation.

But we're not seeing that at all. The unemployment rates stable. There aren't a lot of jobs being added. And so what that basically means is there is less pressure for the Fed to raise rates at his next meeting. It's also the last jobs reading before the midterms next month. And Conrad says one number in particular might weigh on voters' minds. The figure that most people will actually care more about is wage growth. Slow down to 3%, which sounds great until you remember that inflation is like 3.4%.

So Americans are already really upset about the high cost of living. This is another sign that this cost of living squeeze is not going away and that it might even be getting worse for many Americans. And I'm sure that we'll play a big role in midterms. That not too hot, not too cold jobs report was one that markets like today, with investors hoping that the Fed is going to be less aggressive with rate increases. Stocks rose across the board with the NASDAQ leading the gains and closing up more than 1%. Meanwhile, in commodities markets, U.S. crude futures fell 1.9% to just over $91 a barrel after the G7 agreed to release oil and fuel from their emergency stocks. Coming up, why Republicans are pulling money out of a North Carolina Senate race and putting more into Deep Red Kansas.

More after the break. The midterms are a month away, and there's been a notable development in the battleground state of North Carolina. The journal has learned that the Senate leadership fund, a super PAC aligned with Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, has paused future spending in the state. This is a deep-pocketed GOP group pulling out of the Senate race, where Republican nominee Michael Watley is trailing Democratic nominee Roy Cooper. The move is going to free up as much as $19 million. And the journals learned that at the same time, the super PAC is shifting funds to prop up the Republican Senate candidate in Kansas, a solidly red state. It's an indication.

of just how quickly things are changing in the last weeks before the midterms. Democrats have made inroads in red states, so they have more pathways to retake the Senate. Meanwhile, Republicans are eyeing possible flips in Michigan and New Hampshire. Turning now to New York, where sexual assault allegations made by a Cornell student, continue to put the university and local law enforcement under scrutiny. The student alleged that seven members of a fraternity drugged and raped her in 2024. No charges were filed at the time. At a press conference today, New York Governor Kathy Hokel said she was troubled by how the student's claims had been handled.

This woman, this young woman, had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable. And that at every turn, she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her. Hockel has appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James to take over a reopening of the case, saying she's lost faith in the local district attorney to handle it. We will review the facts, gather evidence, interview witnesses, and if warranted, pursue prosecutions. James didn't say how long her investigation could take. On What's New Sunday this weekend, we'll have an episode about a different crisis affecting American universities, the enrollment cliff. We'll look into how three different schools are handling a drop-off in students signing up for college.

That'll be in your feed on Sunday. We're exclusively reporting that the Federal Aviation Administration has determined a new Boeing 737 Max software glitch does not pose a flight safety issue. The problem means that pilots could be left to fly manually without some autopilot functions. And the problem has threatened to complicate approvals for Boeing's latest Max 10 plane. But the agency today determined that the glitch isn't a safety issue because pilots stay in control of the plane and instructions to the flight crew are clear. The FAA said Boeing would issue a bulletin to airlines explaining how to recognize and respond to the problem if it happens during a flight. Boeing didn't immediately comment. Tesla's sales fell 2% in the third quarter, reversing gains from the first half of the year.

Still, the sales numbers beat analyst expectations, and Tesla's stock closed up almost 5%. The company will report its full earnings later this month. And after a long and complicated journey, Paramount's deal to take over Warner Brothers' discovery is finally expected. to close next week. And there are still questions about how the combined company will operate. But Paramount CEO David Ellison is starting to give some indications, including naming a new co-CEO, Mattel's Enon Cries, and now a new corporate name. It's Skydance, the name of the company Ellison founded, which then went on a run of acquisitions. Journal, Media, and Entertainment reporter Joe Flint joins me now with more on how Skydance would function. Joe, WarnerMount,

Para Brothers, there are all these possible options for what a combined company could be named. Is Skydance a better option here? It doesn't mean we're getting rid of the brands of Paramount and Warner Brothers. They're still going to exist in this new entity. But these forced names Warner Brothers discovery we've had and the idea of combining Warner and Paramount, it just becomes a mess. And I think the important thing here is for this company to have a new identity. The names in these brands are very valuable.

There's still going to be an HBO. It's not going to become Skydance-O. You don't get rid of these big brand names. One of those valuable brands is CNN. Yesterday, you reported that Ellison had asked CNN CEO Mark Thompson to stay after the deal closes. CNN is, of course, owned by Warner Brothers, and there have been questions about how CNN would work with Paramount CBS News. There was some fear among employees that he would try to combine the two.

So does this news about Thompson start to answer the question of what would happen between CBS and CNN? I don't want to overstate the significance of trying to keep Mark Thompson. I think it's very important for the CNN people. They want Mark to stay. There was a lot of concern at CNN about whether Barry Weiss, the editor-in-chief at CBS News, would end up over CNN. And that's something not in the cards right now. But it doesn't necessarily mean that there aren't going to be combinations between these two units where it makes sense.

That was WSJ reporter Joe Flint. Thank you, Joe. Thanks. And that's What's News for this week. Tomorrow you can look out for our weekly markets wrap-up, What's News and Markets. And we'll be back with our regular show on Monday morning. Today's show is produced by Danny Lewis and Anthony Bansy

with supervising producer Tali Arbell. Michael LaValle wrote our theme music. Ishael Muslim is our development producer. Chris Zinsley is our deputy editor. Litao Malad is our senior director of shows. And Samantha Hennig is the Wall Street Journal's head of multimedia. I'm Alex Oscella. Have a great weekend, and thanks for listening.