Tonight at 21:30 US Non-Farm Payrolls Data Release: The first employment report of 2026 may trigger market volatility

【Block Rhythm】Tonight at 21:30, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the first non-farm employment data for 2026. The forecast is an increase of 60,000 jobs, down from 64,000 last month. In simple terms, non-farm data reflects employment outside of agriculture in the U.S., and this information is particularly important.

How is this data collected? The Department of Labor conducts monthly sample surveys of U.S. businesses, government agencies, and non-agricultural sectors. Then, on the first Friday of each month, the results from the previous month are made public. It sounds like a complicated process, but the market pays close attention to this number.

At the same time, there is another data point worth noting — the U.S. unemployment rate for December, expected to be 4.50%, compared to 4.60% last month. While the unemployment rate appears to be improving, the number of new non-farm jobs has actually declined. This contradictory phenomenon could be a key trigger for tonight’s market movements. Regardless, both data points will directly influence the Federal Reserve’s next steps, which in turn will impact the overall sentiment of the crypto market.