U.S. Hiring Accelerated in September, Blowing Past Expectations
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U.S. Hiring Accelerated in September, Blowing Past Expectations.
The pace of hiring picked up strongly in September and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%, signs the U.S. economy had continued momentum in a month the Federal Reserve delivered its first interest-rate cut in four years.
U.S. employers added 254,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The numbers beat expectations from economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. They expected payrolls to increase by 150,000 in September, and the unemployment rate to hold at 4.2%.
“The American labor market remains solid,” said RSM U.S. chief economist Joe Brusuelas. “This has got to do with fundamental underlying demand out in the economy as job growth continues and wages are increasing.”
Revised figures show employers added 72,000 more jobs in July and August combined than earlier reported.
Stock futures ticked higher after the report.
Inflationary pressures have eased markedly over the past two years, and the Fed’s focus has shifted more to hiring than price pressures. That means the jobs market will play an outsize role in officials’ decisions on the path of interest rates.
The Fed is expected to cut rates when it meets again next month, and the new data won’t change that. But the September payroll report is likely to close the door on another half-percentage-point rate cut at that meeting and should keep officials on track to lower rates by a quarter point.
The latest snapshot of the labor market’s health comes just a month before the U.S. presidential election, where the economy and inflation are key issues for voters. The strong jobs report could help Vice President Kamala Harris. In polls, she trails former President Donald Trump on the economy.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said earlier this week that officials would continue to reduce interest rates from a two-decade high to maintain solid economic growth, but that they didn’t see a reason to lower rates as aggressively as they did at their most recent meeting.
The Fed’s next policy meeting is Nov. 6-7. Officials will see one more employment report before then, for October.
The month has already seen a major strike by dockworkers at dozens of U.S. ports, which ended late Thursday, and an ongoing strike at Boeing.
The Labor Department bases its jobs numbers on surveys that reflect the calendar week or pay period that includes the 12th of the month. In September, Boeing’s biggest labor union went on strike on the 13th.
Just over two weeks ago, Fed officials voted to lower interest rates by a half-percentage point, their first rate cut in over four years. The decrease was larger than the Fed’s more traditional quarter-point moves and came after a summer of relatively weak hiring by U.S. employers.
September’s employment report showed employers added jobs at bars and restaurants, in healthcare, construction and in government.
The Fed is looking for signs that the gradual cooling in the labor market is continuing, without spiraling into a sharp deterioration.
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