Delayed September Jobs Report Released
The report shows 148,000 jobs were added in September and the unemployment rate was down to 7.2 percent.
The recent government shutdown delayed the September unemployment report from the U.S. Department of Labor. Released Oct. 22, the data show 148,000 jobs were added and the unemployment rate fell to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent the month before. Economists had predicted a more robust number, 180,000 jobs, would be added. The previous month, August, saw 193,000 jobs added.
Though the number of added jobs was lower than what most economists predicted, the survey also pointed to a rise in the number of adults who said they were working. According to NPR, data taken from household surveys showed that 133,000 more adults said they were working and those who reported being unemployed fell by 61,000. The number of people in the labor force—those working or applying for jobs—remained steady. This points to the 0.1 percentage point drop in joblessness, according to NPR.
Though the unemployment rate only dropped slightly from the previous month, the 7.2 percent figure marks the lowest national unemployment rate since November 2008, when it was 6.8 percent.
According to ABC News, transportation and warehousing added 23,400 jobs, construction companies added 20,000 jobs, and governments added 22,000 jobs. Average hourly pay across the country also increased from $24.06 to $24.09.
"The economy continues on the road to recovery, but at a more modest pace than the American people need or expect. President Obama continues to push for an agenda that will kick the recovery into a higher gear," U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said in a statement posted by DOL. "He is asking Congress to pass a budget that invests in important priorities like education, infrastructure and technology, while continuing to reduce the deficit over the long term. And he is stepping up the call to fix our broken immigration system in a way that increases economic growth. These job-creating initiatives should have been the nation's focus over the last month; instead we were sidetracked by a divisive struggle that inflicted unnecessary wounds on the economy.
"This report comes behind schedule, as the federal government was shut down on the first Friday of this month. It does not reflect the adverse impact of the shutdown on the national economy, something we won't be able to fully measure until more data are released in the coming months."