US jobs report: payroll sum only 29,000 in September, unemployment reaches 4.2%
The U.S. labor market showed a sharp slowdown in September. According to the report released this Friday, October 2, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy created only 29 thousand jobs outside the agricultural sector, well below the revised result of 133 thousand jobs in August.
The unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.2%, while the number of unemployed people remained at approximately 7.1 million. The indicator remains, however, within a relatively narrow range seen since March, between 4.1% and 4.3%.
The result also came in below market expectations, which pointed to about 90 thousand new jobs in September. In addition, the report revised downward the figures for July and August, reducing the combined employment of those two months by 60 thousand positions compared with the previous estimates.
In the market’s assessment, the data reinforces the perception of a cooling in the U.S. labor market and may influence expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next steps. Even so, official data show that the situation is not a widespread wave of layoffs: in August, job openings remained at around 7.1 million, while layoffs were relatively stable.
Another important point was the moderate increase in wages. The average hourly earnings rose 0.1% in September, to US$ 37,81, accumulating a 3% gain over 12 months.
The U.S. labor market showed a sharp slowdown in September. According to the report released this Friday, October 2, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy created only 29 thousand jobs outside the agricultural sector, well below the revised result of 133 thousand jobs in August.
The unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.2%, while the number of unemployed people remained at approximately 7.1 million. The indicator remains, however, within a relatively narrow range seen since March, between 4.1% and 4.3%.
The result also came in below market expectations, which pointed to about 90 thousand new jobs in September. In addition, the report revised downward the figures for July and August, reducing the combined employment of those two months by 60 thousand positions compared with the previous estimates.
In the market’s assessment, the data reinforces the perception of a cooling in the U.S. labor market and may influence expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next steps. Even so, official data show that the situation is not a widespread wave of layoffs: in August, job openings remained at around 7.1 million, while layoffs were relatively stable.
Another important point was the moderate increase in wages. The average hourly earnings rose 0.1% in September, to US$ 37,81, accumulating a 3% gain over 12 months.
