A look ahead: Q4 2025 outlook
The labor market is a primary concern for investors and policymakers. Private payroll growth, excluding the distorting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now near 15-year lows. Continuing claims (unemployment claims that extend beyond one week) are still low, but rising, and longer-term unemployment is reaching levels often associated with a recession.
While the job market could stabilize, weak employment can trigger a vicious cycle: Fewer jobs result in less spending, resulting in expectations of lower corporate profits and thus increasing layoffs. This outcome is not our base case, however. We remain optimistic that lower interest rates and a more business-friendly tax and regulatory environment should provide the needed support.
We expect equity investors to react favorably to future rate cuts, providing support to stock prices. Lower rates will help consumers by lowering borrowing costs, provide some support to an abnormally slow housing market and likely boost the economy. Additionally, lower interest rates will reduce the cost of financing the U.S. government’s debt—which is currently quite high—lowering concern about the deficit’s sustainability.
Tariffs, other policy decisions and an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment are major threats to financial markets. Despite these risks, we remain optimistic about the U.S. economy’s long-term ability to navigate uncertainty, innovate and deliver the earnings growth that drives market returns.