Job Growth in the U.S. for September
The Labor Department announced that the U.S. economy gained 119,000 jobs in September. This figure significantly outpaced the expectations, which were around 50,000 new jobs. The report, delayed several weeks due to the government shutdown, finally came out on Thursday.
Looking ahead, the jobs report for October, typically expected on the first Friday of the month, will likely not be published due to the shutdown that impacted the data collection week. As for the November report, it is set to be released on December 16, which is quite a bit later than usual.
The unemployment rate saw a slight increase, rising from 4.3% to 4.4%. This change came alongside a rise in the labor force participation rate. Notably, the total number of employed Americans grew by 251,000, while those searching for jobs but not finding any rose by 219,000.
In terms of pay, growth was notably strong in consumer-facing sectors, indicating a robust U.S. household sector. Bars and restaurants saw an employment boost of 37,000, while the leisure and entertainment sector overall added 47,000 jobs. Healthcare employment grew by 43,000, with retail and wholesale trade contributing 13,900 and 9,400 jobs, respectively.
On the federal front, President Trump’s ongoing efforts to shrink the size of the government appear to be paying off, with federal employment down by 3,000 jobs and a total drop of 97,000 since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector faced a decrease of 6,000 workers, maintaining the same level as the previous year. A year prior, durable goods manufacturers added 1,000 jobs after a 4,000-job cut in September.
The construction industry added 19,000 jobs recently, following employment increases in the previous two months. Compared to last year, construction jobs are up by 30,000.
As for wages, average hourly pay increased by 9 cents, or 0.2%, to $36.67 in September. Over the last year, hourly wages rose 3.8%, which outpaced inflation by 3.0%. For private sector production and non-management workers, the average hourly wage increased by 8 cents, or 0.3%, reaching $31.53.
However, there’s some downside news as well; the estimates for July and August were revised downward quite a bit. July’s numbers were adjusted down by 7,000 from an initial boost of 79,000 to a revised 72,000. Similarly, August’s estimate dropped by 26,000, shifting from an anticipated increase of 22,000 to a decrease of 4,000. After these revisions, combined employment for July and August showed a decrease of 33,000 from earlier announcements.
