U.S. Employers Added More Jobs Than Expected in September

U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in September, after the labor market cooled down over the summer. U.S. employers added 119,000 jobs in September, according to a survey of businesses by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, data which was delayed due to the federal government shutdown. September job additions were up from the 4,000 jobs lost in August following a downward revision. The September jobs report was above economists’ expectations of a gain of roughly 50,000 jobs. The July estimate was revised down by 7,000 jobs, while the August figure was revised down by 26,000 jobs, going from a gain of 22,000 jobs to a loss of 4,000 jobs. That was the second monthly job loss since December 2020. With those revisions, employment in July and August combined came in 33,000 jobs below the previously reported figures. Five of the 11 major industries added jobs in September, with the largest increases in the Education/Health Services (+59,000 jobs) and Leisure/Hospitality Services (+47,000 jobs) sectors, followed by Government (+22,000 jobs), Construction (+19,000 jobs) and Financial Activities (+5,000 jobs). Notable job losses were seen in the Professional/Business Services (-20,000 jobs). Other major industries losing jobs during the month were Manufacturing (-6,000 jobs), Mining/Logging (-3,000 jobs), Other Services (-2,000 jobs) and Trade/Transportation/Utilities (-2,000 jobs), while the job count in the Information sector was unchanged. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate (U3 or headline unemployment rate, which is seasonally adjusted, and is a survey of households) edged higher to 4.4% in September, up from 4.3% in August and the highest reading in nearly four years.  

This post is part of a series analyzing employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more on this data, read previous posts on Job Growth.