NEW YORK (AP) — A weak report on the U.S. jobs market is sending stocks lower in early trading on Wall Street. The news also shot government bond prices up, drove the U.S. dollar down and rattled stock markets in Europe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government says hiring slowed sharply last month, and fewer jobs were added during the summer than previously thought. The Labor Department says employers added just 142,000 jobs in September as manufacturers and oil drillers shed workers. Hiring in July and August was revised lower by 59,000. The unemployment rate remained 5.1 percent, but only because more Americans stopped looking for work. The proportion of Americans working or searching for jobs fell to a 38-year low.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories fell in August by the largest amount in eight months, led by a drop in demand for commercial airplanes. The Commerce Department says factory orders declined 1.7 percent in August after a slight gain of 0.2 percent in July. It was the biggest setback since orders dropped 3.7 percent in December. Demand in a key category that serves as a proxy for business investment slipped 0.8 percent in August.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart has laid off 450 workers at its headquarters as the world’s largest retailer attempts to become more nimble to compete with the likes of Amazon.com. There are about 18,000 people who work at the headquarters Bentonville, Arkansas. The cuts were across all areas, from finance to global e-commerce. They were announced a month and a half after Wal-Mart cut its annual earnings outlook.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state TV is reporting that Royal Dutch Shell and France’s Total will be the first foreign companies to be allowed to operate gasoline stations inside Iran. The Press TV English-language channel quotes the head of Iran’s filling stations union as saying 100 new licenses have been issued to each company. Until now, the only retail service stations belonged to the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company.

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