July’s figure was revised from 245,000 to 223,000, and the change for August was revised from 173,000 to 136,000, meaning that 59,000 fewer jobs were created than previously reported.
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The unemployment rate remained at 5.1%, the same as August.
In another sign of labor market tightening, Friday’s report was expected to show significant upward revisions to job growth in prior months.
In a broader look at the slowdown, the three-month average was a tepid 167,000 jobs a month, underlining an economy that was losing momentum in the third quarter. A number of USA employers added many jobs in the last month at brisk pace.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has been watching job growth closely as it decides whether to raise its key interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade.
Investors saw virtually no chance the Fed would end its near-zero interest rate policy at its only other scheduled meeting this year, to be held later in October. It “strengthens the case that the Fed will be forced to stay on hold over the remainder of the year”.
On the whole this report suggests the labor market is considerably weaker than had been generally believed. Because labor-force growth is slow, the US doesn’t need to produce a lot of jobs to keep the jobless rate low.
Fed chairman Janet Yellen last week said the central bank would probably have to raise rates this year to stop the economy from overheating.
Employment gains in September are expected to have been concentrated in service industries, in part because a China-led global economic slowdown appears to be battering USA factories. The economy is still millions of jobs short of where it should be.
The household survey was also showed a weak picture of the labor market.
Raising rates to start the new year would not be a good way to start the new year, and job numbers like what was delivered today, give them all the more reason to let them ride. It said last month that the economy’s post-recession recovery was still too fragile to risk a rate hike, but hinted it might go ahead by December.
There was a 1-cent decrease in average hourly earnings last month, bringing the figure to $25.09.
Private-sector payrolls grew by just 118,000, with the government accounting for the rest of the gains.
The number of temp jobs rose 3.71% on a year-over-year basis in September, down from 4.08% in August and 4.56% in July.
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Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up in September (+31,000). While the headline unemployment rate stood still at 5.1pc, the broader underemployment measure fell from 10.3pc to 10pc.
