September jobs: +29,000 hired as unemployment hits 4.2%
U.S. employers added just 29,000 jobs in September and unemployment rose to 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. Economists had expected about 90,000 hires. Soft hiring into the midterms revives the debate over whether the Fed can pause rate hikes.
The U.S. labor market cooled in September. Nonfarm payrolls rose 29,000 and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, CNN and Reuters-syndicated desks confirm. Economists had expected roughly 90,000 jobs and a 4.1% jobless rate. It is the last official employment snapshot before the Nov. 3 midterms.
Prior months were revised weaker: July flipped to a 10,000-job loss from a previously reported 21,000 gain, and August was cut to 133,000 from 162,000 in LiveMint’s Labor Department read — a combined 60,000-job downward revision. Average monthly gains through September sit near 68,000, CNN noted, still above last year’s anemic pace but well below pre-pandemic norms. Annual wage growth slowed to 3%, the weakest since May 2021, as healthcare, construction, and manufacturing added jobs while government, information, professional services, and temp help shed positions.
For workers, the stake is a “low-hire, low-fire” market where paychecks struggle to keep up with war-era inflation and fuel costs. Markets initially treated soft payrolls as easing October Fed hike odds; traders later priced a high chance of a December hike even as October odds fell, per LSEG data cited by Reuters. Soft-landing voices say the print buys the Fed time to focus on prices; hawks warn wages and energy spillover still argue for tighter policy. The BLS schedule and Friday tables stand as the weekend baseline — watch next week’s Fed speakers and any ISM follow-through.
What we know:
September NFP +29,000; unemployment 4.2%; July/August revised down about 60,000 combined; annual wage growth slowed to 3%.
What we don’t:
Whether the Fed holds in October or how far soft hiring feeds midterm messaging on the economy.
Where outlets agree CNN, LiveMint/Reuters, and BLS agree September payrolls rose 29,000, unemployment hit 4.2%, and prior months were revised lower.
Where they differ Desks split on whether the soft print locks a Fed pause or whether inflation and energy costs still keep a hike path alive into December.