The September jobs report, delayed nearly seven weeks by the government shutdown, leaves an already divided Federal Reserve with stale and somewhat inconclusive government data as the central bank heads into its next meeting in December. Compunding this issue, two economic-data releases originally scheduled for next week will be delayed as statistics agencies continue to recover from the recent prolonged shutdown. Meanwhile, America’s middle class is weary as costs for goods and services are 25% above where they were in 2020. Elsewhere, a majority of Bank of Mexico board members are likely to support another interest-rate cut in December, while turning more data-dependent after that, minutes of this month’s meeting showed Thursday. And the South African Reserve Bank on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point, on the back of expectations for inflation to tick lower amid higher growth.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell led his colleagues to initiate cuts in September amid concerns that job-market sluggishness might lead to outright weakness in the coming months. He encountered stiffer resistance to a second cut in October, in part because the government data blackout made it harder to resolve disagreements over the outlook.

The September jobs report reinforces the puzzle. On the one hand, hiring rebounded, with a stronger-than-expected monthly gain in jobs. That could give an increasingly loud contingent of inflation-focused “hawks” more conviction to oppose another cut.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate ticked up to a four-year high of 4.4%. Many Fed officials view the metric as the cleanest indicator of how supply and demand are balancing out, due to significant shifts in the number of job hunters due to immigration shifts.

• Delayed Data Show Strong Hiring, but Offer Little Clarity for Fed
• Jobs Report Shows Impact of Immigration Clampdown
• First Jobless-Claims Report Post-Shutdown Suggests Steady Labor Market
• Watch: Why the Federal Reserve Is Divided About Cutting Again

• Philadelphia Area Factory Activity Falls Back Slightly

Despite the government shutdown, the revolving door in leadership posts and tens of thousands of job cuts, the Internal Revenue Service is ready to implement the new tax law and enforce the tax code, the Treasury Department’s top tax-policy official said Thursday.

• Eurozone wage growth slows sharply. Wages in the eurozone rose at a sharply slower pace during the three months through September, even as the unemployment rate remained at a record low. The European Central Bank said Friday that wages set through negotiations between employers and labor unions or similar bodies were 1.87% higher in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, a slowdown from the 4.01% increase recorded in the three months through June. It was the smallest annual increase in wages since the final quarter of 2021. The slowdown in wages suggests inflation is on track to fall below the ECB's 2% target in 2026, a development expected by policymakers.  (Dow Jones Newswires)
• Eurozone Business Activity Continues Growth Despite Manufacturing Hit

• Singapore exports show weakness even as the economy shines. Non-oil domestic exports declined by 3.3% over the July-September period, reversing from a 7.0% increase in the previous quarter. The drop was largely due to lower shipments of non-electronics, which outweighed growth in electronics, Enterprise Singapore said Friday. It cited the volatile pharmaceutical segment as among the biggest contributors to the quarter's decline. Friday's data showed that among its top 10 markets, Singapore's shipments to the U.S. fell the most in the third quarter, tumbling 30.7%. (DJN)

9:45 a.m.: US Flash Manufacturing PMI
9:45 a.m.: US Flash Services PMI
10 a.m.: University of Michigan Survey of Consumers - final
6 p.m.: Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr speaks at National College Fed Challenge finals

8:30 a.m.: Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)
10:30 a.m.: Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey
12 p.m.: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization annual revision

Jobs data, including solid payroll gains in September, a slight uptick in unemployment, and modest initial unemployment claims in the past few weeks, makes the doves' case tougher at the Federal Reserve, RSM economist Joe Brusuelas writes. "The combined jobs market data this morning does not point to a rapid deterioration of labor market conditions and affirms a modest growth path in the economy and employment," he says. He notes a solid three-month moving average of job gains, incorporating September data. "A 62,000 increase on average over the past three months per month, in addition to the 119,000 in September, is not an economic or financial problem." — Matt Grossman

Generous energy subsidies in Japan's large supplementary budget could push inflation below 2% early next year, but the looser fiscal policy builds the case for rate hikes, says Capital Economics. Subsidies would slash energy's contribution to headline inflation, pushing it below the BOJ's target, writes Marcel Thieliant. But he reckons the BOJ will look past that and focus on the inflationary consequences of fiscal expansion. The supplementary budget implies a sizeable fiscal loosening of 1.1% of GDP, and initial requests for the coming fiscal year's regular budget foresees an unusually large 5.6% increase in spending. With the latest CPI print showing inflation ex-fresh food and energy above 3% and Gov. Ueda's warning about the inflationary consequences of recent yen weakness, the BOJ won't wait much longer. — Fabiana Negrinochoa

WSJ Pro Central Banking brings you central banking news, analysis and insights from WSJ’s global team of reporters and editors. This newsletter was compiled by markets reporter Vicky Ge Huang in New York. Send your tips, suggestions and feedback to vicky.huang@wsj.com.