News & Insights

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000 in September, blowing past the consensus estimate of 150,000 job gains. July and August job gains were also revised upward by 72,000 jobs. The 12-month average stands at 203,000 job gains per month. Manufacturing employment, however, declined by 7,000, largely influenced by a 6,500 decrease in motor vehicles and parts. In addition, August’s 24,000 manufacturing job loss was revised down to 27,000. The unemployment rate dipped 0.1 percentage point to 4.1%, while the labor force participation rate remained unchanged at 62.7%.

The employment-population ratio ticked up slightly to 60.2%, though it’s down 0.2 percentage points from a year ago. Employed persons who are part-time workers for economic reasons decreased by 206,000 to 4.6 million but are up from 4.1 million in September 2023. Native born employment is up over the month but down 825,000 over the year. Meanwhile, foreign born employment is up 1,201,000 over the year.

Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm payroll employees rose 0.4%, or 13 cents, reaching $35.36. Over the past year, earnings have grown 4.0%. The average workweek for all employees edged down by 0.1 hour to 34.2 hours in September.