The September jobs report shows the U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in September, above economists’ estimates. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor said Thursday the U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in September, above economists’ estimates. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in September, which was higher than economists’ expectations.
Originally scheduled for release on Oct. 3, the September jobs report was delayed by six weeks due to the 43-day government shutdown, which furloughed workers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) who are responsible for compiling the report.
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The October jobs report, which is usually released in November, will now be released in December due to a snowball effect of delays caused by the government shutdown.
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By the numbers:
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Updated report data shows job losses in July and August
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Job gains in the prior two months were both revised in the September report, with job creation in July revised down by 7,000 from a gain of 79,000 to 72,000; while August job creation for August was revised down by 26,000 from a gain of 22,000 to a loss of 4,000. Taken together, employment in July and August combined was 33,000 lower than previously reported.
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September payrolls up in the private sector, state and local governments add jobs
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The report shows private payrolls added 97,000 jobs in September, above the economists’ estimates of 62,000.
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BLS says government payrolls expanded by 22,000 jobs in September after declining by the same amount in August. State governments added 16,000 jobs while local governments added 9,000 jobs. The federal government workforce shed 3,000 jobs in September.
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The BLS noted that federal employment is down by 97,000 jobs since reaching a peak in January and that federal workers on paid leave or receiving ongoing severance pay are counted as employed in the agency’s establishment survey.
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Manufacturing and warehousing jobs continue declining job losses
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The manufacturing sector lost 6,000 jobs in September, a smaller drop than the 8,000 loss estimated by LSEG economists. Overall, the manufacturing sector is down 94,000 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis from a year ago.
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Transportation and warehousing shed 25,000 jobs in September, driven by losses in warehousing and storage (-11,000) and couriers and messengers (-7,000).
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Healthcare and food services add jobs
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The healthcare industry added 43,000 jobs in September, slightly higher than the 12-month average of 42,000 over last year. The gains were seen in ambulatory healthcare services (+23,000) and hospitals (+16,000).
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Food services and drinking establishments added 37,000 jobs in September, while the social assistance industry gained 14,000 jobs for the month.
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Part-time employment steady
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The number of people working part-time for financial reasons changed little at 4.6 million in September. These workers would prefer to work full-time but were working part-time because their hours were reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
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Why was the September jobs report delayed?
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Dig deeper:
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Even though much of the job’s data in September was collected before the government officially shut down on Oct. 1, it was still incomplete due to federal agencies suspending operations.
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October combined with November jobs report
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Timeline:
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Similar to the September data, the Labor Department was unable to calculate the unemployment rate and some other key numbers in time for the scheduled release of the October jobs report.
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Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data — most importantly the number of jobs that employers created last month — along with the full November jobs report, now due a couple of weeks late on Dec. 16.
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Big picture view:
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The monthly jobs report consists of two parts: a survey of households that is used to determine the unemployment rate, among other things; and the “establishment” survey of companies, nonprofits and government agencies that is used to track job creation, wages and other measurements of labor market health.
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It’s usually released the first Friday of the month.
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Past job report delayed releases
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In 2013, a government shutdown prevented the release of that year’s September jobs report. Initially scheduled for publication on Oct. 4 of that year, it was ultimately released on Oct. 22, 2013, less than a week after the shutdown ended with funding restored on Oct. 17.
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A similar delay occurred in early 1996, when the December 1995 jobs report was supposed to be released in early January but was delayed until the middle of the month because of a shutdown.
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During the last partial government shutdown in the winter of 2018-19 that lasted more than a month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics was funded under a previously-enacted appropriations bill and didn’t have to delay a jobs report.
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The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press, FOX Business and reporting by The Hill. This story was reported from San Jose.