What Happens to VIX Index When Nonfarm Payrolls Turn Negative?
What happens when Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) turn negative? Recession confirmation, Fed response, and historical market reactions to month-over-month job losses.
How VIX Index Responds
Scenario Background
Nonfarm Payrolls measures the net change in US employment excluding farm workers, government employees, and nonprofits. A negative monthly print indicates the economy shed jobs over the reporting period. Outside of seasonal anomalies and one-off shocks, sustained negative prints are among the most definitive recession signals in macroeconomics.
Read full scenario analysis →Historical Context
Every modern US recession has included multiple negative NFP prints. The 2008-2009 downturn saw 24 consecutive negative months, cumulatively shedding 8.7M jobs. The 2020 COVID shock produced the largest single-month decline in history: -20.5M in April 2020. The 2001 recession was milder but included 15 negative prints totaling -2.7M jobs. The 1990-91 recession saw 11 negative months. Outside of recessions, false-alarm negative prints (weather-related, strike-distorted) are typically revised away...
What to Watch For
- •Two consecutive negative NFP prints
- •Downward revisions flipping prior positive prints negative
- •Unemployment rate rising 0.5% from its cycle low (Sahm Rule)
- •Household Survey employment declining alongside Establishment Survey
- •Initial jobless claims rising above 300k
Other Assets When Nonfarm Payrolls Turn Negative
Other Scenarios Affecting VIX Index
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