In a sign of continued economic stamina, payrolls grew by 336,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department said Friday, Oct. 6. The increase, almost double economists’ expectations, serves as a confirmation of the labor market’s vitality and the overall hardiness of an economy facing challenges from a variety of forces.
The unemployment rate was 3.8%, unchanged from August, as joblessness ticked back near record lows.
September was the 33rd consecutive month of job growth. Hiring figures for July and August were revised upward, with employers adding 119,000 more jobs to the labor market than previously recorded. Wages, as measured by average hourly earnings for workers, rose 0.2% from the previous month and 4.2% from September 2022.
While those are welcome gains for workers battling to keep up with inflation, they may be viewed with concern by Federal Reserve policymakers, who have tried to rein in both wages and prices by pulling up interest rates. Some financial analysts believe that continued resilience in wage gains and job growth could hasten a downturn by prompting the Fed to raise borrowing costs further during its next meeting in early November.
The unemployment rate has been below 4% since December 2021, a stretch not achieved since the late 1960s.
“This is an economy on fire,” said Samuel Rines, an economist and the managing director of Corbu.
While the trend of gains remains impressive, experts warn against concluding too much from one month’s data. September figures frequently feature quirks from seasonal adjustments, as teachers return to work and summer workers in leisure and hospitality leave their jobs.
c.2023 The New York Times Company. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
