Unemployment Rate Ticks Higher as Job Growth Slows - Yahoo Finance
The U.S. labor market saw a slowdown in September with only 29,000 jobs added and an unemployment rate rise to 4.2%. Analysts suggest the market is stabilizing into a 'low hire, low fire' environment despite missing growth expectations.
Why it matters
Employment data is a critical indicator for economic health and influences Federal Reserve policy decisions regarding interest rates.
Michael Rainey Fri, October 2, 2026 at 6:28 PM EDT U.S. employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate rose a tenth of a percentage point to 4.2%, the Labor Department announced Friday. Both results failed to meet expectations, as analysts had projected job growth of about 90,000 and a steady unemployment rate for the month.
Job growth in the previous two months was moved lower, as well, with the numbers for July reduced by 31,000, moving the final tally to a loss of 10,000, and August falling by 29,000 to 133,0000.
The healthcare sector provided the majority of the growth in September, as it has for many months, adding a weaker-than-usual 17,000 jobs. Construction firms created 11,000 jobs, and manufacturers 9,000.
Employment in federal, state and local governments fell by 17,000, while professional and business services firms cut 9,000 jobs.
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