September's jobs report badly misses expectations with payrolls increasing by just 194,000

[Klaralven]

The U.S. economy created jobs at a much slower than expected pace in September, a pessimistic sign about the state of the economy though the total was held back substantially by a sharp drop in government employment.

Nonfarm payrolls rose by just 194,000 in the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 500,000, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 4.8%, better than the expectation for 5.1% and the lowest since February 2020.

The headline number was hurt by a 123,000 decline in government payrolls, while private payrolls increased by 317,000. The drop in the jobless rate came as labor force participation edged lower. A more encompassing number that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons fell to 8.5%, also a pandemic-era low.

Despite the weak jobs total, wages increased sharply. The monthly gain of 0.6% pushed the year-over-year increase to 4.6% as companies use wage increases to combat the persistent labor shortage. The available workforce declined by 183,000 in September and is 3.1 million shy of where it was in February 2020, just before the pandemic declaration.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/08/september-jobs-report.html

[Johnny2X2X]

1. UE rate falls to 4.8%

Wages growing at record rates.

This is not a bad report like the media will portray. July and August revised up substantially too.

[Freethinker65]

2. Yep.

Lots of lower wage jobs available with signing and staying on bonuses. There is a worker shortage.

I work one of those low wage retail jobs and base pay went up over 14% in less than one year. Of course, that puts new hires and those with years of experience at essentially the same pay, so many unhappy about it. Good thing is it is easy to go elsewhere for comparable hourly wages. Still no health benefits for most though.

[Johnny2X2X]

3. First time workers have had this much power that I can remember

Every time I see on the news that employers are struggling to find enough workers, I smile inside. Seeing wages rise this fast for several months now is so long overdue, the lower wage workers are finally seeing some hope for a chance at earning a wage that can afford them a more dignified existence.

I see these local yokel business owners whining on the news that, "people just don'ts wants to work:, and I laugh, you're not paying enough, there are better paying options now. So yeah, your $12 an hour manual labor jobs are going to unfilled when people can go work at Amazon for $19 an hour, Costco for $18 an hour, or even Walmart for $15 an hour. Pay a fair wage, offer benefits, it's what the market demands right now.

[lagomorph777]

4. September BLS jobs report, Unemployment falls to 4.8%, 194,000 jobs added

You seem to find a way to put the most negative spin on everything.

Well done this time.

[Mary in S. Carolina]

5. Unemployment benefits cut

according to the republicans, once the unemployment cuts, there would be a huge demand for jobs. Of course they were wrong again.

[Tommy Carcetti]

6. Disappointing? Yes. Still in the right direction? Also yes.

Jobs typically don't come back smoothly, but rather in fits and spurts. As long as we're not losing jobs, it's not anything to be overly worried about.

[rockfordfile]

7. There was no way in hell 500,000 with a pandemic still going on.

un-employment at 4.8% is good and wages are doing good. But 500,000 jobs during a pandemic? that's just some person's bs. Dow jones "estimates".