September payrolls rise by 29,000; unemployment reaches 4.2%

U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September, below the average monthly gain of 45,000 over the previous 12 months, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1% in August. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the figures October 2, along with revisions that reduced the combined July and August employment estimates by 60,000.

The number of unemployed people was 7.1 million. The unemployment rate has stayed within a range of 4.1% to 4.3% since March, BLS said. September’s payroll increase followed a revised gain of 133,000 in August.

The payroll and unemployment figures come from different parts of the monthly report. Payroll employment counts jobs reported by employers; the unemployment rate is based on a household survey. The measures describe different aspects of the labor market, so September’s payroll increase and the rise in the unemployment rate are not contradictory readings of the same count.

Health care hiring slowed from its recent pace

Health care added 17,000 jobs in September, about half its average monthly increase of 33,000 over the prior 12 months. Within the industry, ambulatory health care services added 13,000 jobs and hospitals added 12,000, while nursing and residential care facilities lost 9,000. Those figures show different results across parts of the sector; they do not identify a cause for the changes.

Average hourly earnings for employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $37.81. Compared with September a year earlier, earnings were up 3.0%. BLS also reported a labor-force participation rate of 61.8% and an employment-population ratio of 59.2%.

The household survey showed a 7.0% unemployment rate for Black workers, up 1.0 percentage point over the month. BLS reported little change in the rates for adult men, adult women, teenagers, White, Asian and Hispanic workers. These demographic rates provide additional detail on unemployment, separate from the employer survey’s payroll count.

Revisions cut earlier job estimates

BLS revised July payrolls from an increase of 21,000 to a loss of 10,000. The August estimate was lowered from a gain of 162,000 to 133,000. Together, the two months’ employment figures were 60,000 lower than previously reported. The agency said revisions reflect additional reports from businesses and government agencies and recalculation of seasonal factors.

A separate summary from the Senate Joint Economic Committee put nonfarm employment 496,000 higher than a year earlier. It also reported that the broader U-6 measure—which includes people marginally attached to the labor force and those working part time for economic reasons—was 7.6%, down from 7.7% in August and 8.1% a year earlier. That measure provides a wider view of labor underutilization than the official unemployment rate alone.

BLS’s next Employment Situation report, covering October, is scheduled for November 6, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. The monthly report updates the national measures of hiring, unemployment and wages; the estimates can be revised as additional information is received.