Bitcoin price got its latest push from an unlikely source: a weaker U.S. labor market. With hiring slowing to 29,000 jobs and unemployment rising to 4.2%, BTC broke above $87,000 as traders reassessed the macro backdrop.
Earlier in the day, Bitcoin price jumped above $87,000 on Oct. 2, 2026, in the wake of the latest jobs report in the United States, which showed that only 29,000 employers added jobs in September, and the unemployment rate climbed to 4.2%.
Plus, the data turned out to be well below what analysts had expected, ultimately affecting the mood of the market. Bitcoin appeared at $87,165 around the U.S. market opening, up 2.46%, as per Charles Schwab’s market update.
Yields fell at the same time, while U.S. equity indexes advanced. This means that BTC price climbed back above what appears to have been a resistance during the final days of September.
The labor statistics for September were not as upbeat as what was forecast previously. The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 29,000 nonfarm payroll additions as against the 45,000 average per month over the last year.
The rate of unemployment climbed from 4.1% in August to 4.2%. Average hourly earnings jumped up 0.1% over a month and 3% compared to the previous year. They also changed the picture of last month’s hiring. From 162,000 in August, the figures were revised to 133,000.
July data, originally showing a gain of 21,000, was adjusted to the figure of a -10,000 decline in employment. Overall, the revisions cut the employment gains for July and August by 60,000 jobs from previous estimates.
It has implications for markets as the U.S. jobs data came out while the traders who previously had anticipated another Federal Reserve rate increase were lowering such expectations.
Reuters reported that in the Fed’s Oct 27-28 meeting, the likelihood of a hike had dropped to about 22% compared to roughly 69% a week ago.
The last rate hike was the Fed tightening its policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point, tightening the target range to 3.75%-4%. For Bitcoin price, the situation was fairly clear: lower expectations of continued tightening of monetary policy by the U.S. central bank contributed to supporting risky assets as yields came back.
However, the jobs data itself does not capture the entire picture of the move higher in the price of the cryptocurrency asset.
Prior to Friday’s breakout, technical analysts were expecting the area of around $86,630 to $87,350. Block Insider’s Sept. 28 market analysis recognized $86,630 and $87,350 as the level of breakouts, with support at $81,209.
The report cited a weekly double-bottom structure with a measured target around $100,450. Not proven to be a future scenario, but rather a technical scenario, as a reference chart only for the level of support and resistance.
Now the Bitcoin price has traversed the lower edge of the supposed resistance channel. The difference matters, as it indicates not only the structure of the chart itself but also confirms an immediate move above the entire resistance band. That band has so far kept the cryptocurrency’s price from moving further up.
BTC price also benefited from forced positioning at the moment. Glassnode data reported Bitcoin jumping through the sell wall of $85,000 and triggering about $122 million in BTC short liquidations in 24 hours. CoinGlass data suggest there were about $119 million in crypto shorts liquidated within one hour as Bitcoin moved above $86,000 over the same time frame.
Such a situation, where such leverage is unwound, can often contribute to an immediate boost in the value of BTC as the price of the asset moves higher. However, it cannot indicate the extent to which the rise was fueled by new onboarding or other spot purchasing power.
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