US Added Just 29,000 Jobs in September as Unemployment Ticked Up to 4.2%

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs in September, well below what economists had expected, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, the Labor Department reported on Friday — the last monthly jobs report before Americans vote in pivotal midterm elections.

Economists had forecast payroll gains of roughly 85,000 to 90,000, according to the Associated Press. Instead, hiring slowed sharply from a downwardly revised 133,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate ticked up from 4.1% the previous month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

The Labor Department also revised earlier months sharply lower: August payrolls were cut from an initial estimate of 162,000 to 133,000, while July was revised to a loss of 10,000 jobs. Taken together, the revisions erased 60,000 jobs from prior estimates.

Average hourly wages grew just 3% over the past year — the smallest annual gain since May 2021, the AP reported.

The report arrives with voters deeply dissatisfied about the cost of living. A Thursday poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found only 17% of U.S. adults approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of the cost of living, and just 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall — a new low.

Financial markets welcomed the weakness: stock futures jumped, with the Dow climbing roughly 500 points before the opening bell, and Treasury yields fell as investors bet the soft data could push the Federal Reserve toward interest-rate cuts.

Sources

• Associated Press: https://www.barchart.com/story/news/4925657/us-adds-disappointing-29-000-jobs-and-unemployment-ticks-up-to-4-2-in-september
• Barron’s: https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-100226/card/stocks-pop-and-bond-yields-drop-after-jobs-report-avIGkqeeuinFhJYxoSCa
• Investor’s Business Daily: https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-sp500-nasdaq-september-jobs-report-nike-earnings-tesla-deliveries/