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US Adds Only 29,000 Jobs in September, Below Expectations
Confirmed
In Short: Employers across the U.S. added only 29,000 jobs in September, a figure well below economists' forecasts of 90,000 new jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Employers across the U.S. added only 29,000 jobs in September, a figure well below economists' forecasts of 90,000 new jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, observed that only healthcare and construction sectors showed hiring activity, albeit weakly. She added that September's wage growth was the lowest since May 2021.
Steve Rick, chief economist at financial services firm TruStage, said the downward revisions to August's job numbers put the previous month's strong employment report into perspective.
The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.2% in September from 4.1% in August, prompting Tempelman to suggest that this increase warrants close attention.
Despite the weaker-than-expected jobs data, financial services firms shed 7,000 jobs last month, and the number of people working part-time for economic reasons increased.
Vanguard senior economist Adam Schickling described the labor market as resilient but not accelerating, with hiring subdued and layoffs remaining low.
Phil Camporeale, chief investment strategist at JPMorgan Wealth Management, argued that the combination of lower-than-expected jobs created, negative revisions to prior data, and weaker wage growth indicate that the labor market is not a source of inflationary pressure.
Chris Phelan, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told Yahoo Finance that he does not expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again this year, given the weaker-than-expected September jobs report.
Phelan noted that the slower pace of hiring does not necessarily indicate a weak labor market, suggesting that the underlying story is still a low-hire, low-fire labor market.
What this adds
The September jobs report contrasts with the flash S&P Global US Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) which rose to 58.4 in September from 56 in August, signaling a marked acceleration in private-sector activity.
The report also showed that layoffs through September have declined 40% from the same period a year earlier.
Background
The US economy added 29,000 jobs in September, a slower pace than expected.
The flash S&P Global US Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 58.4 in September from 56 in August, signaling a marked acceleration in private-sector activity.
What's confirmed
- The sector's gain of 35,000 jobs in August was revised up to a gain of 44,000.
What's still developing
- Updated on: October 2, 2026 / 10:52 AM EDT / CBS News Employers across the U.S. added 29,000 jobs in September, below economists' forecasts and signaling that some businesses are holding off on hiring amid headwinds such as surging energy prices and higher inflation.
- "September's nonfarm payroll gain of just 29,000 jobs raises questions about the durability of the labor market after the Federal Reserve's first interest rate increase since 2023," Jerry Tempelman, vice president of economic and fixed income research at Mutual of America, said in an email.
- Layoffs through September have declined 40% from the same period a year earlier, its report found.
- "Across America, people don't like this labor market. It's not hard to see why. There's still not much hiring going on."
- "One month doesn't make a trend, and monthly payroll numbers can bounce around quite a bit. What matters more is whether the three-month trend continues to show a labor market that is gradually cooling rather than falling off a cliff."
- "Inflation has wiped out wage gains since March. That's a real financial squeeze."
- "A hike would have to come from the inflation data, not from a labor market that produced 29,000 jobs against a 90,000 estimate and then subtracted 60,000 from the prior two months."
- These individuals would've preferred full-time employment but were working part-time because their hours had been reduced, or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
- Private payrolls grew by 46,000 jobs in September, below the gain of 85,000 that was estimated by economists in the LSEG poll.
- August's gain of 127,000 private sector jobs was revised down to 89,000.
- Government payrolls contracted by 17,000 jobs in September.
- The federal government shed 1,000 jobs, while state government employment contracted by 3,000 jobs and local government employment fell by 13,000 jobs.