Nonfarm Payrolls Miss Forecast as US Adds Just 29,000 Jobs

US – (Special Correspondent/Web Desk) – The latest nonfarm payrolls miss shows that US hiring slowed sharply in September. Employers added only 29,000 jobs, far below the 90,000 that experts had expected, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Friday.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1% in August. Part of the increase came from more people joining the workforce and looking for jobs.

Past numbers also looked worse. The government cut its job estimates for July and August by a combined 60,000. July now shows a loss of 10,000 jobs, while August shows a gain of 133,000.

Over the full year, the economy has added about 45,000 jobs a month on average. That is a slow pace for a country of this size.

Most industries hired fewer people last month. Healthcare, the strongest sector this year, added just 17,000 jobs. Its usual monthly gain is about 33,000.

Financial activities moved the wrong way. The sector lost 7,000 jobs in September.

Retail also gave little help. Every September, shops usually hire extra staff to prepare for the busy season. That normal jump did not appear this year.

Pay growth was soft too. Average hourly earnings rose just 0.1% from August. Compared with a year ago, wages grew 3%, the slowest pace since May 2021.

The report changed how traders think about interest rates. They now see only a 20% to 23% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise rates in October. Weak hiring usually makes the central bank more careful.

Markets reacted quickly. Bond yields dropped, and stock futures moved higher, as investors hoped for a gentler Fed.

Still, the picture is not all bad. New claims for unemployment benefits remain very low, at their lowest level in almost 57 years. Layoffs are also down about 20% from the same period last year.

This creates a strange mix. Companies are not firing many people, but they are not hiring either. Many seem to be waiting and watching before they add new staff.

For workers, this means job seekers may face a tougher search. People who already have jobs seem fairly safe, but new openings are harder to find.

For the Fed, the choice is not easy. Slow hiring and weak wages argue for patience. Low layoffs, however, suggest the economy is not falling apart.

Experts will now watch the next reports closely. If hiring stays weak for several months, worries about a slowdown will grow. If it picks up, the September weakness may look like a short pause.

For now, the nonfarm payrolls miss leaves the US economy in a cautious spot. The labor market is steady on the surface but slow underneath.