Stronger Hiring, Steady Unemployment: What To Expect In Friday's Jobs Report

The September payrolls report is bound to be more thoroughly scoured than most. Coming amid a rout in financial markets and jitters about a global slowdown, it'll offer a window into how the U.S. labor market — the engine powering the world's largest economy — is faring.

Despite steady hiring in the U.S. this year, international risks threaten to dent growth and depress inflation, as Federal Reserve policy makers noted in September when they delayed raising interest rates. With the central bankers meeting again later this month, all eyes will be on how much the job-market scorecard bolsters the case for the Fed to move. Here's what to look for when the Labor Department releases the data on Friday at 8:30 a.m. in Washington: