the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, (8:33am) total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in September, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality and in health care.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 263,000 for the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 275,000. The unemployment rate was 3.5% vs the forecast of 3.7% as the labor force participation rate edged lower.
September’s payroll figure marked a deceleration from the 315,000 gain in August and tied for the lowest monthly increase since April 2021.
In the closely watched wage numbers, average hourly earnings rose 0.3% on the month, in line with estimates, and 5% from a year ago, an increase that is still well above the pre-pandemic norm but 0.1 percentage point below the forecast.
Market taking a sheet today. Again.
Normalize that rate given the an average participation rate (only 64% reported this period) and you will see a much higher number..