US Job Growth Is Slowing Even Without Government Data to Show It

Investors don’t need the official government jobs report to see that the labor market has shifted into a lower gear.

Even without the marquee data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics — which won’t be published on Friday due to the government shutdown — a number of private-sector indicators out in recent days pointed to sluggish hiring, limited layoffs, modest pay gains and easing demand for workers in September.