US Jobs Report Adds Just 29,000, Unemployment 4.2%

The US jobs report for September showed the labor market hitting a soft patch, with employers adding just 29,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rising to 4.2 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday and reported by CNN, USA Today and other outlets.

The September figure fell well short of the roughly 90,000 jobs economists had expected. It was the third-weakest monthly jobs report of 2026, according to Firstpost’s summary of the BLS release, and it arrives as the final official employment snapshot before the midterm elections.

Revisions made the picture softer still. July was revised from a gain of 21,000 jobs to a loss of 10,000, and August was revised down from 162,000 to 133,000, meaning employment in those two months was 60,000 lower than previously reported.

What the US Jobs Report Shows by Sector

Hiring was uneven across the economy. Health care remained the strongest source of job creation, adding 17,000 positions in September, though that was below its average monthly gain of 33,000 over the previous year, according to the BLS data cited by Firstpost and Fox Business. Construction added 11,000 jobs and manufacturing added 9,000, with manufacturing employment now up 72,000 since its recent low in December 2025.

Financial activities lost 7,000 jobs in September. The sector has shed 129,000 jobs since reaching a recent peak in May 2025, with most losses concentrated in insurance carriers and related activities. Government payrolls contracted by 17,000 jobs, including a 13,000 decline in local government employment, much of it in education.

• September payrolls: +29,000 vs about 90,000 expected
• Unemployment rate: 4.2%, up from 4.1% in August
• July revised: +21,000 changed to -10,000
• August revised: 162,000 down to 133,000
• Average hourly earnings: $37.81, up 3% over the year
• Labor force participation rate: 61.8%

A “Low-Hire, Low-Fire” Market

Economists described a labor market that is not collapsing but is clearly cooling. Average hourly earnings rose 5 cents to $37.81 in September, up 3 percent over the year, and wage growth slowed even as inflation accelerated, according to USA Today. “We are just seeing the labor market holding up,” Kory Kantenga, chief economist at LinkedIn, told CNN. “It’s a slow labor market, hiring’s still slow, we still see elevated competitiveness, job seekers still have low confidence; but we don’t see any red flags that the labor market is getting worse.”

Bill Adams, chief US economist at Fifth Third Commercial Bank, said in a note cited by USA Today that even after the disappointment, the pace of job growth over the last three months sits near the top of estimates of the rate needed to hold unemployment steady. But he added that slowing wage growth alongside faster inflation is a sign workers are having a hard time moving up to better-paying jobs.

Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel called the September numbers a “clear miss” that extends existing trends: few layoffs, but little job creation, making it hard to find a job if you do not already have one.

What It Means for the Fed

The weaker report changed expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next meeting on October 27-28. Minutes after the release, CME FedWatch showed odds rising to 85 percent that the federal funds rate will hold steady at its current 3.75 to 4 percent range, up from 75 percent a day earlier, according to Realtor.com.

Fed officials will also review the September inflation report, due October 14, before deciding. In August and July, paychecks did not keep pace with rising prices, USA Today reported, a squeeze the September wage data does little to relieve.

The Bigger Picture

Through September, the economy has added an average of 68,000 jobs per month this year, BLS data shows. That is stronger than last year, CNN reported, but well below pre-pandemic averages. Analysts attribute the structural shift to an aging population, increased Baby Boomer retirements, a decline in immigration and the advancement of artificial intelligence.

The number of unemployed people was little changed at 7.1 million, while long-term unemployment stood at 1.9 million, accounting for 27.1 percent of all unemployed people, according to the BLS figures cited by Firstpost.

For workers, the report describes stability without momentum. For policymakers, it is one more data point in a difficult balance between inflation that has not finished falling and a job market that is losing speed.