29,000: September Jobs Fall to Less Than a Third of the 90,000 Forecast
October 3, 2026 · Frisian News
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The US economy added only 29,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in September 2026, well below the 90,000 forecast. Revisions to July and August removed a further 60,000 jobs from the books.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the US economy added 29,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in September, less than a third of the 90,000 that economists polled by LSEG had forecast, according to Fox Business.
The miss was not a rounding error. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had placed their estimate at 84,000, CNBC reported; those polled by LSEG put theirs at 90,000. Either way, the actual count fell roughly two-thirds short. Private payrolls came in at 46,000 against an expected 85,000, Fox Business noted.
The September figure did not arrive alone. The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised July's total from a gain of 21,000 to a loss of 10,000, and cut August from 162,000 to 133,000, Fox Business reported. Those two adjustments together removed 60,000 jobs that had previously been counted, according to CNBC. The three-month picture is considerably weaker than the headline figures suggested a month ago.
Unemployment rose from 4.1 to 4.2 percent, above the 4.1 percent economists had expected, Fox Business reported. Average hourly earnings rose just 0.1 percent in September, leaving the 12-month gain at 3.0 percent, the lowest annual wage growth since May 2021, CNBC reported. "Wage growth fell to a new 5-year low and is being wiped out entirely by inflation," Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNBC.
Healthcare led the gains with 17,000 new jobs, construction added 11,000 and manufacturing 9,000, according to CNBC. Government employment fell by 17,000, temporary help services lost 11,000, and information services shed 10,000. Financial activities contracted by 7,000 and have now shed 129,000 jobs since a peak in May 2025, Fox Business reported.
The report is, as The American Conservative noted, the last before November's election. The Federal Reserve meets on October 27 and 28. The CME FedWatch tool showed a 79.5 percent probability the Fed would hold rates steady in October, up from 35.8 percent only a week earlier, according to Fox Business. Thomas Simons, chief US economist at Jefferies, wrote in a note that the number was "the nail in the coffin for an October hike," CNBC reported.
Markets rose on the weak data. The S&P 500 gained 0.96 percent by mid-morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.61 percent, and the Nasdaq climbed 1.63 percent, according to Fox Business. Traders were pricing in a Fed pause, which lifted equities even as the underlying employment figures disappointed.
Vanguard senior economist Adam Schickling told Fox Business that "hiring is subdued, layoffs remain remarkably low, and month-to-month payroll figures are likely to keep sending mixed signals." Phil Camporeale, chief investment strategist at JPMorgan Wealth Management, said the combination of weak jobs, negative revisions, and lower wage growth was "further evidence that the labor market is not a source of inflationary pressure."
FryskIt Bureau of Labor Statistics rapportearre freed dat de Amerikaanske ekonomy yn septimber 29.000 net-agraryske banen derby krige, minder as in tredde fan de 90.000 dy't ekonomen ûnderfrege troch LSEG ferwachten hienen, neffens Fox Business.
It ferskil wie gjin ôfrûningsflater. Ekonomen ûnderfrege troch Dow Jones setten har raming op 84.000, sa rapportearre CNBC; dy't troch LSEG ûnderfrege waarden kamen út op 90.000. Hoe dan ek, de wirklike sifers leinen sawat twa tredde leger. Private banen kamen út op 46.000 tsjin in ferwachte 85.000, sa notearre Fox Business.
De septimbersifers kamen net allinnich. It Bureau of Labor Statistics korrigearre it julyoantal fan in plus fan 21.000 nei in ferlies fan 10.000, en snie augustus fan 162.000 nei 133.000, sa rapportearre Fox Business. Dy twa oanpassings tegearre skraste 60.000 banen dy't earder teld wienen, neffens CNBC. It trije-moannebyld is oansjenlik swakker as de kopsifers in moanne lyn oanjûnen.
De wurkleazens gie fan 4,1 nei 4,2 prosint, boppe de 4,1 prosint dy't ekonomen ferwachten, sa rapportearre Fox Business. De gemiddelde ûrsleannen stegen mar 0,1 prosint yn septimber, sadat de grutens oer 12 moannen útkomt op 3,0 prosint, de leechste jierliks leangrutens sûnt maaie 2021, sa rapportearre CNBC. "De leangrutens dûkte nei in nij fiif-jierrich leechpunt en wurdt folslein útwiske troch ynflaasje," sei Heather Long, haadekonomist by Navy Federal Credit Union, tsjin CNBC.
De soarch luts de groei oan mei 17.000 nije banen, de bou foege 11.000 ta en de fabrikaazje 9.000, neffens CNBC. Oerheidsbanen daalden mei 17.000, tydslike helpferliening ferlear 11.000, en ynformaasjetsjinsten boeten 10.000 yn. Finansjele aktiviteiten kromp mei 7.000 en hat no 129.000 banen ferlern sûnt in hichtepunt yn maaie 2025, sa rapportearre Fox Business.
It rapport is, sa notearre The American Conservative, it lêste foar de novimberferkiezings. De Federale Reserve komt op 27 en 28 oktober byinoar. It CME FedWatch-ark toande in kâns fan 79,5 prosint dat de Fed de rinte yn oktober stabyl hâlde soe, omheech fan 35,8 prosint mar in wike earder, neffens Fox Business. Thomas Simons, haad-Amerikaansk ekonomist by Jefferies, skreau yn in nota dat it oantal "de spiker yn de kiste foar in oktoberferheging" wie, sa rapportearre CNBC.
Beurzen stegen op de swakke sifers. De S&P 500 wûn 0,96 prosint healwei de moarn, de Dow Jones Industrial Average foege 0,61 prosint ta, en de Nasdaq klom mei 1,63 prosint, neffens Fox Business. Hannelers hienen in Fed-pauze ynpriist, wat oandielen ophefte sels wylst de ûnderlizzende wurkgelegenheidssifers tsjinfielen.
Vanguard senioar-ekonomist Adam Schickling sei tsjin Fox Business dat "it oannimmen fan personiel beheind is, ûntslachs opfallend leech bliuwe, en moanne-op-moanne betelningssifers wierskynlik miksde sinjalen bliuwe stjoeren." Phil Camporeale, haad-ynvestearringsstrateeg by JPMorgan Wealth Management, sei dat de kombinaasje fan swakke banen, negative korreksjes en legere leangrutens "fierder bewiis is dat de arbeidsmerk gjin boarne fan ynflaasjeopdruk is."
Published October 3, 2026 · Frisian News