An article summarized by CNBC:

The U.S. economy added just 29,000 jobs in September, well below economists’ expectation of 84,000, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%. Previous months were also revised downward: August was reduced to 133,000 jobs, while July was revised from a gain to a loss of 10,000. Altogether, the revisions erased 60,000 jobs from previous estimates, suggesting the labor market has been weaker than initially reported.

However, the report was not uniformly negative. The household survey showed 406,000 more people employed, while the labor force grew by 485,000 and the labor-force participation rate reached 61.8%. Wage growth also slowed, with average hourly earnings rising just 3% over the past year, the slowest pace since May 2021. Health care, construction and manufacturing added jobs, while government, temporary-help services, information and financial activities lost workers. The data reinforces the picture of a labor market where employers are hiring cautiously but also aren't laying off workers at unusually high rates.

The weak jobs report immediately affected expectations for the Federal Reserve. Markets increasingly expected the Fed to hold interest rates steady at its October meeting, with some economists saying the report makes another rate hike less likely in the near term. At the same time, inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target, with core inflation around 3%, creating a difficult balancing act. The economy itself has continued to grow, with revised first- and second-quarter GDP growth of 2.5% and 2.2%, while the Atlanta Fed was tracking third-quarter growth at 3.7%.

For the article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/02/jobs-report-september-2026.html