Key Points:
- Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 336,000 in September and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%.
- Consensus among economists was a gain of 170,000 jobs.
- The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised up by 79,000, from +157,000 to +236,000, and the change for August was revised up by 40,000, from +187,000 to +227,000.
- With these revisions, employment in July and August combined is 119,000 higher than previously reported.
- Leisure and hospitality added 96,000 jobs in September, government employment increased by 73,000, health care added 41,000 jobs, employment in professional, scientific, and technical services increased by 29,000, and social assistance added 25,000 jobs.
- Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; financial activities; and other services.
- In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by $0.07 to $33.88.
- The average workweek for all private employees was unchanged at 34.4 hours in September.
- The labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.8% and is 0.5% below its February 2020 level.
- In September, the unemployed population was little changed at 6.4 million but job openings rose to 9.6 million in August.