Wall Street is watching the labor market for signs of slower hiring, which could influence the Federal Reserve's next rate decision.

The jobs report suggests the U.S. might be headed toward a soft landing, where inflation moves down to the Fed’s goal without major deterioration in the jobs market.

Stronger-than-expected job growth could reaffirm the market’s expectation the Fed will slow its future rate cuts to a quarter-point each, following a half-point reduction at its September meeting. Softer growth could do the opposite,

Economists anticipate that nonfarm payrolls likely rose by 150,000 last month, based on the median forecast of estimates in a Bloomberg survey. That would be up from 142,000 in August and the most in four months.

The latest figures suggest that many companies are still confident enough to fill jobs despite the continued pressure of high interest rates.