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Hiring in the US surged unexpectedly last month, easing fears that the economy might be heading for a sudden, sharp downturn. <\/p>\n
Employers in the US added 254,000 jobs in September, much more than expected, while the jobless rate dipped from 4.2% to 4.1%, the Labor Department said. <\/p>\n
That was the strongest gain since March, and was far higher than the roughly 150,000 many analysts had forecast.<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden welcomed the report, one of the last major pieces of economic data that voters will receive before the presidential election. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Surveys indicate public doubts about the economy have remained persistent, as a 20% rise in prices since 2021 weighs on sentiment.<\/p>\n
Over the past year, job growth has also slowed and the unemployment rate has been edging higher, though it remains at historically low levels.<\/p>\n
Last month, the US central bank cut interest rates by a bigger-than-usual 0.5 percentage points, saying it wanted to avoid any further weakening in the labour market.<\/p>\n
But Friday’s report showed solid wage gains and eased fears of a sudden change for the worse in the labour market. <\/p>\n
“All in all, it was a much stronger report than we were anticipating,” said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics. <\/p>\n
“If anyone was worried about the labour market being so weak that we were on the verge of a recession, then that should eliminate those worries.”<\/p>\n
Bars and restaurants led the hiring in September, adding 69,000 jobs, according to the report. Retailers and health care firms also reported job gains, while the manufacturing sector shed positions. <\/p>\n
The Labor Department also updated its estimates of job creation in August and July, saying employers had added about 72,000 more jobs than previously thought.<\/p>\n
Average hourly pay was up 4% over the last 12 months, according to the report, outpacing the pace of inflation during that time. <\/p>\n
“Today, we received good news for American workers and families with more than 250,000 new jobs in September and unemployment back down at 4.1%,” President Biden said.<\/p>\n
“With today\u2019s report, we\u2019ve created 16 million jobs, unemployment remains low, and wages are growing faster than prices.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
However, analysts cautioned that September can be a quirky month for data, given the start of the school year. Next month, job figures may be hit by the labour strike at Boeing and damage from Hurricane Helene.<\/p>\n
Analysts said they still thought the Fed would cut rates in the months ahead, noting that price inflation seems headed back to the bank’s 2% target. <\/p>\n
But they said the stronger-than-expected job growth this month suggested the Federal Reserve would make smaller rate cuts in the future.<\/p>\n
“They can move at a more measured pace,” Ms Vanden Houten said. <\/p>\n
“To cause them to move more aggressively again, they would need to see something really worrisome… and this report definitely isn’t sending that signal.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n