Payrolls Rose 29,000 in September. July Now Shows a Loss of 10,000.

US employers added 29,000 jobs in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 2. Economists had expected about 84,000. The unemployment rate was 4.2%, with 7.1 million people unemployed. The BLS characterised both the payroll figure and the jobless rate as having changed little, and noted the unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.1% to 4.3% since March.

The more consequential part of the release was the revision to earlier months. July, originally reported as a gain of 21,000, is now a loss of 10,000. August was cut from 162,000 to 133,000. Together that removes 60,000 jobs from the record of the summer.

The Headline Numbers

• Nonfarm payrolls: +29,000 in September, against a 12-month average of +45,000.
• Unemployment rate: 4.2%; unemployed persons: 7.1 million.
• Labour force participation rate: 61.8%; employment-population ratio: 59.2%.
• Long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more): 27.1% of all unemployed people.
• Average hourly earnings: $37.81, up 5 cents on the month and 3.0% over the year.
• Average weekly hours: 34.4, unchanged.

Why the Revisions Matter More Than the Headline

A single month of payroll data is a sample estimate, and the BLS revises it twice as more employer records arrive. September's 29,000 is a first estimate and will itself be revised. What the October 2 release establishes with more confidence is the shape of the three months before it: a July that was negative rather than positive, and an August that was weaker than first published. Against a 12-month average of 45,000 a month, the revised path describes a labour market adding jobs at roughly a third of the pace it managed in 2024 and 2025.

Where the Hiring Was

• Health care added 17,000, below its recent monthly average of about 33,000. Within it, ambulatory health care services added 13,000 and hospitals 12,000, while nursing and residential care facilities lost 9,000.
• Construction added 11,000.
• Manufacturing added 9,000, with plastics and rubber products up 5,000 and machinery up 5,000.
• Financial activities lost 7,000. Employment in the sector is down 129,000 since May 2025.
• The BLS reported little change across all other major industries.

Wages and Hours

Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm employees rose 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $37.81. Over the 12 months, earnings are up 3.0%. For production and nonsupervisory employees the figure rose 7 cents to $32.60. The average workweek was unchanged at 34.4 hours. Wage growth at 3.0% is running close to, and in some months below, the pace of consumer price inflation reported for August, which means real earnings growth is thin.

How to Read the Two Surveys

The payroll figure comes from the establishment survey, a sample of employers; the unemployment rate comes from the household survey, a sample of households. They measure different things and are revised on different schedules, which is why the two can appear to disagree in a given month. The establishment survey counts jobs, so a person holding two of them is counted twice; the household survey counts people. In September both pointed the same way: a labour market that is not shedding workers quickly, but is no longer absorbing them at pace either.