:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-2245999171-9c323681b941450c944a47218f89dced.jpg "September’s Job Data is Finally Out—Here’s What It Revealed")
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Key Takeaways
- The U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in September, more than forecasters expected, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3%.
- The report, which was delayed by last month’s government shutdown, presented a mixed picture of the job market’s health.
More people got hired in September than forecasters expected, and more were unemployed too, according to a highly anticipated and long-delayed report on the labor market.
The U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in September, rebounding from a loss of 4,000 jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday. That was more than double the 50,000 forecasters had expected, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. After taking into account job losses over the summer, the job creation has been flat since April. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3%, reaching a fresh high since October 2021.
Thursday’s report was the first major data on the job market published by government statistical agencies since September. It was originally supposed to be published Oct. 3, but was delayed by the government shutdown. Overall, it painted a mixed picture of the health of the labor market.
What This Means For The Economy
The job market report showed job creation bouncing back after a severe slowdown over the summer, continuing relatively slow growth while not showing red flags of a major crisis.
The number of jobs added was the most since May, but was below the monthly average of 147,000 in the 12 months through April. In addition, the previous two months of job growth were downwardly revised by 33,000.
The labor force participation rate rose to 62.4% from 62,3% in August, reaching its highest since May but remaining well below typical pre-pandemic levels.
Most of the job gains came from health care, leisure, and retail sectors. Federal government employment fell by 3,000. Manufacturing lost 6,000 jobs, the fifth decline in as many months. The manufacturing sector has lost jobs every month since President Donald Trump announced sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs intended to give U.S. factories an edge over foreign competition.
