U.S. adds 136,000 jobs in September, unemployment rate hits 50-year low
By
Greg Robb
Published: Oct 4, 2019 8:41 a.m. ET
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Labor market shows some resilience in face of weakening economy
Bloomberg
A fair for construction jobs in Los Angeles in mid-September.
The numbers: The economy added 136,000 new jobs in September,
the government said Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 150,000 increase.
This is the slowest pace of job growth in four months, as businesses grew more cautious about hiring, but employment gains for August and July revised up by a combined 45,000
And in a separate survey, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, the lowest rate since December 1969. The number of unemployed people fell by 275,00 over the month.
One dark spot in the report was that the increase in worker pay over the past 12 months fell to 2.9% from 3.2%. Average hourly earnings were little changed in September following an 11-cent gain in August.
What happened: With manufacturing activity weak, the bulk of the hiring in September was concentrated in the services sector. Education and health care providers filled 40,000 positions.
Government added 22,000 workers in September, but only 1,000 of the jobs were due to federal hiring for the 2020 Census. Economists had expected a much bigger increase in census workers.
Retailers shed 11,000 jobs and manufacturers dropped 2,000 workers.
Big picture: The resilience seen in the September job report will raise hopes that the economy can avoid a recession. Although manufacturing activity and business investment have been weak, consumer spending has held up well.
Many economists say the employment report is a lagging indicator and they will be watching for readings over the next few months before giving an “all-clear” sign for the economy.
The Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates this year as insurance against a slowdown in economic growth, but the job report does not add to expectations of another cut in October.
Market reaction: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, +0.60% and the S&P 500
SPX, +0.55% have been weak on rising fears of a recession. Both indexes had been set to open lower ahead of the job data.