Employers in the United States recruited more people than predicted in September, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, indicating a robust labour market that will keep the Federal Reserve on its aggressive monetary policy tightening campaign for the foreseeable future.
Though the 0.2 point drop in the unemployment rate from 3.7% in August was due in part to people leaving the workforce, the Labor Department’s carefully anticipated employment data on Friday also revealed that fewer Americans worked part-time for economic reasons last month. Despite the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes, the labour market remains resilient.
‘The labour market isn’t simply chugging along; it’s a virtual steamroller that does nothing to curb economic demand or aid the Fed in its fight against inflation,’ said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York.
According to the establishment survey, nonfarm payrolls climbed by 263,000 jobs last month after increasing by an unrevised 315,000 in August. This year, job growth has averaged 420,000 per month, down from a monthly average of 562,000 in 2021.
Reuters polled economists, who predicted 250,000 job gains, with predictions ranging from 127,000 to 375,000. The unemployment rate is expected to remain constant at 3.7%.
The leisure and hospitality industry, which added 83,000 jobs, drove the overall growth in employment. The majority of the gains were made in restaurants and bars. Nonetheless, leisure and hospitality employment is 1.1 million jobs lower than it was before the pandemic.
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