JPMorgan economists have compared the US labour market with a boat sailing through rough seas over the past few months. The July data showed it “was taking on more water, but has not yet capsized”. By August, the boat had indeed capsized, and in September, according to figures released at the end of last week, there were “159,000 men and women overboard”.

Last month’s decline in non-farm payrolls was the largest since March 2003, and one of the clearest signs yet that turmoil on Wall Street and the US banking industry is spilling over into the broader economy: manufacturers cut 51,000 jobs; retailers shed 40,000; construction companies lost 35,000; and financial services groups slashed 17,000.