U.S. Employment Rises By 29,000 Jobs In September, Much Less Than Expected

(RTTNews) - The Labor Department released a closely watched report on Friday showing employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of September.

The report said non-farm payroll employment rose by 29,000 jobs in September after jumping by a downwardly revised 133,000 jobs in August.

Economists had expected employment to increase by 85,000 jobs compared to the surge of 162,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

"Given this is the last employment report before the next FOMC policy meeting on October 27 - 28, it lends support to the less hawkish Fed officials that indicate no need to rush and deliver the next rate hike at the end of this month," said Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic.

The much weaker-than-expected job growth came as the Labor Department said employment was little changed in all major industries.

Healthcare employment continued to trend higher but at a slower pace than the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months.

The report also said the unemployment rate crept up to 4.2 percent in September from 4.1 percent in August. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.

The unexpected uptick in the unemployment rate came as the labor force grew by 485,000 persons, outpacing the 406,000-person surge in the household survey measure of employment.

"Looking ahead, we expect the unemployment rate to hold steady around 4.2% with the risk skewed to the downside as labor force growth continues to slow," said Nancy Vanden Houten, Lead U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

The Labor Department also said average hourly employee earnings edged up by $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $37.81.

The annual rate of growth by average hourly employee earnings slowed to 3.0 percent in September from 3.1 percent in August. Economists had expected the pace of growth to tick up to 3.2 percent.