Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by +336,000 in September, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The increase is much higher than the previous month and almost twice what had been forecast. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.8%.
All sectors reported job gains (though there were losses in some subsectors). The biggest growth occurred in:
- Leisure and hospitality (+96,000 jobs)
- Government (+73,000 jobs)
- Education and health (+70,000 jobs)
Wage growth slowed during the month. Hourly earrings were up 0.2% from August and 4.2% year-over-year, but this represents the slowest one-year pace of growth since March 2020.
Meanwhile, temporary help services declined by -4,200 to 2.94 million.
