Sales of corporate bonds to Japan’s mom and pop investors are booming, on track to surpass last year’s record as bigger returns draw buyers looking to protect their savings from inflation.

Well-known names such as railway operator Keio Corp. and supermarket giant Aeon Co. are among those tapping the retail bond market, with the latter selling its debut retail bond on Friday.

Employers in the US showed little enthusiasm to take on workers during August, and the unemployment rate probably ticked up to an almost four-year high, adding to evidence of a more subdued labor market.

Economists project about 75,000 jobs were added, based on the median of a Bloomberg survey, while the jobless rate is seen at 4.3%. Four straight months of sub-100,000 payrolls growth would mark the weakest such stretch since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.