- The unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 percent in September with payrolls expanding by 134,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate is the lowest since 1969.
- The Labor Force Participation (LFP) remained at 62.7 percent. The Employment-population ratio finished for the month at 60.4 percent, little changed. The number of unemployed for the month was 6.0 million, declining by 270,000.
- The economy added 137,000 jobs in September. Job gains took place in Professional and business services (+54,000), Health care (+26,000) and the Transportation and warehousing sector (+24,000).
- In addition, Construction added 23,000 jobs while Manufacturing added 18,000 jobs.
- According to the BLS, the following sectors saw little or no change in employment: Wholesale trade, Retail trade, Information, Financial activities and Government.
- Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 73 cents or 2.8 percent. In September the average hourly private nonfarm wage rang in at $27.24, an increase of eight cents. The average workweek for all employees was unchanged at 34.5 hours.
- Despite Hurricane Florence, the BLS said its surveys were within normal ranges. Major analysts appeared to agree.
- The number of persons employed part-time for economic reasons increased by 263,000 to 4.6 million. The number of long-term unemployed was little changed at 1.4 million. This group represents 22.9 of all unemployed persons.
ANALYSIS
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 134,000 in September well below the 12-month average of 201,000. Wall Street expected a payroll increase by 185,000 jobs. The BLS reported 121,000 new private sector jobs were created compared with the ADP payrolls report released earlier this week of 230,000 private payrolls.
While jobs created were below expectations, the BLS revised numbers for July (from 147,000 to 165,000) and August from 201,000 to 270.000). After revisions, the BLS found the three-month average for new jobs arrived at 190,000 per month. Manufacturing continues to improve. Over the past year the sector has added 278,000 jobs — four-fifths of that growth taking place in the high-wage durable goods sector.
That could continue to improve as the nation’s manufacturing system continues to express optimism despite a worker shortage. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, “Nearly 93 percent of manufacturers are projecting further expansion for their businesses, and positive sentiment among smaller companies is up to 91.3 percent.”
In one of the only downsides of today’s report, Hurricane Florence may have caused some weakness in the Leisure and hospitality sector (-17,000).
Hispanic unemployment is at an all-time low.
Unemployment drifted downward for all groups by educational attainment (See chart below). "The labor market is in excellent shape heading into the end of 2018, perhaps the best it has been in 50 years," Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC told CNBC. "Job growth was a bit softer in September, but some of that was from Hurricane Florence, and it should bounce back through the rest of 2018 and into 2019."
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| Chart by East Boston Economics - BLS,Table A4 - Educational Attainment |
