Nonfarm payrolls rose by 29,000 in September and the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said, with employment little changed across major industries.
US nonfarm payroll employment rose by 29,000 in September and the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Both measures changed little over the month. The number of unemployed people was 7.1 million.
The September gain followed an average monthly increase of 45,000 over the prior 12 months, the BLS said. Employment in all major industries changed little. Health care continued to add jobs, up 17,000, a slower pace than the prior 12-month average of 33,000. Ambulatory health care services added 13,000 and hospitals 12,000, while nursing and residential care facilities lost 9,000.
Construction employment changed little, up 11,000, in line with an average of about 10,000 a month over the previous year. Nonresidential specialty trade contractors continued to trend up, adding 12,000.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research, citing the same release, said prior-month revisions reduced the previous two months by a combined 60,000 and put the three-month average at 51,000. It also reported wage growth of 3.0 percent from a year earlier. Those revision and wage figures are CEPR's reading of the official data, not a separate BLS headline.
The report is the main official read on September hiring. Markets had already traded the release on Friday; CNBC reported equity futures and the Nasdaq moving higher after the weaker payroll number as rate-hike bets fell.