September US Nonfarm Payrolls Rise Less Than Expected, Unemployment Rate Up

08:42 AM EDT, 10/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The September employment report showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 29,000, well below the 90,000 jobs increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:35 am ET, while August payrolls were revised downwards to a 133,000 increase and July payrolls were revised downwards to a 10,000 decrease, for a net downward revision of 60,000 jobs. Private payrolls rose by 46,000 in September after an 89,000 jobs increase in August, well below the gain of 81,000 private jobs expected for September. Health care and social assistance jobs increased by 23,000 while leisure and hospitality jobs increased by 10,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in September from 4.1% in August, compared with no change expected, while the labor force participation rate rose to 61.8% from 61.6% in August and the size of the labor force expanded. Hourly earnings rose by 0.1%, slower than the 0.3% gain expected, and followed a 0.3% increase in August. Hourly earnings were up 3.0% year-over-year, slower than a 3.1% year-over-year gain in August. The average workweek remained at 34.4 hours, above an expectation of 34.3 hours. The monthly employment report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics consists of two separate surveys and is considered the most important data release for the month. The survey of businesses measures the levels of employment and wages and the length of the average workweek, broken down by industry. The survey of households measures the number of people working or looking for work, the unemployment rate, those that have left the workforce and reasons for part-time work. Market reaction can be mixed, particularly when the two surveys disagree. A strong increase in employment or a decline in the unemployment rate is generally a positive for stocks as sign of a strong US economy, but bonds would react negatively to the same news, particularly if wages rise sharply at the same time.