Payrolls growth in U.S. misses big for a second straight month
BNN Bloomberg
The U.S. added fewer jobs than forecast for a second month in September, signaling weakness in the labor market recovery and complicating a potential decision by the Federal Reserve to begin scaling back monetary support before year end.
The U.S. added fewer jobs than forecast for a second month in September, signaling weakness in the labor market recovery and complicating a potential decision by the Federal Reserve to begin scaling back monetary support before year end.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 194,000 last month after an upwardly revised 366,000 gain in August, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 4.8 per cent, partly reflecting fewer Americans looking for work. Meantime, average hourly earnings jumped.
The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a 500,000 rise in September payrolls. U.S. stock futures erased gains and Treasuries fluctuated after the figures.
Consecutive months of sluggish job growth indicate a tug of war between employers -- starved for workers to meet demand -- and candidates that have been slow to return to the workforce. Nonetheless, school reopenings and the end of expanded federal unemployment benefits should lead to a pickup in hiring in coming months at a time when companies are boosting pay.
In September, employment decreased by about 144,000 in local government education. The Labor Department said hiring last month was lower than typical, resulting in a decline after seasonal adjustment. Payrolls at restaurants and bars rose only slightly.
The jobs figures risk not satisfying the Fed’s “substantial further progress” criteria for labor market improvement, indicating the central bank could delay its plan to begin tapering asset purchases by year-end.
