September Jobs Report: U.S. Adds 254,000 Jobs

In September 2024, the U.S. labor market saw a stronger gain, with 254,000 jobs added, marking a notable increase from the previous month’s revised 159,000. This resurgence suggests continued labor market resilience, despite ongoing concerns about economic cooling.

The unemployment rate edged down slightly to 4.1%, a marginal improvement from the previous month’s 4.2%.

Is the U.S. Job Market Growing?

While job growth picked up in September, the overall pace still reflects slower momentum compared to earlier in the year. The uptick in job additions across key sectors highlights a labor market that continues to expand, though caution remains due to economic uncertainty.

Certain sectors, including food services, healthcare, and construction, demonstrated solid gains, indicating that demand for labor remains robust in specific areas, even as other industries, such as manufacturing, showed little change.

U.S. Unemployment Rates by Group

• Adult women: 3.6% (down from 3.7%)
• Adult men: 3.7% (down from 4.0%)
• Teenagers: 14.3% (up from 14.1%)
• Whites: 3.6% (down from 3.8%)
• Blacks: 5.7% (down from 6.1%)
• Asians: 4.1% (unchanged)
• Hispanics: 5.1% (down from 5.5%)

Key Employment Statistics for September 2024

• The number of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) remained stable at 1.6 million, now accounting for 23.7% of the unemployed, slightly up from August’s 21.3%.
• Part-time employment for economic reasons remained steady at 4.6 million, compared to the previous month’s 4.8 million.
• Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 13 cents to $35.36, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 4.0%.

Sectors with Notable Job Growth in September

Food Services and Drinking Places

The food services sector surged, adding 69,000 jobs, well above its monthly average, reflecting a resurgence in hospitality demand.

Healthcare

The healthcare sector added 45,000 jobs, with notable increases in home health care services (+13,000), hospitals (+12,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000), although overall growth was slightly below its 12-month average.

Social Assistance

The social assistance sector grew by 27,000 jobs, with individual and family services contributing the bulk of new positions (+21,000).

Construction

The construction sector added 25,000 jobs, in line with the previous year’s monthly average, with nonresidential specialty trade contractors seeing a gain of 17,000 jobs.

September Jobs Report Summary

September’s report points to a labor market that rebounded strongly after the summer months, with substantial job gains in food services, healthcare, social assistance, and construction. While the unemployment rate has edged down, other key indicators, such as long-term unemployment and labor force participation, show little movement, reflecting both resilience and ongoing challenges.

Revised job numbers from July and August further support the idea that the labor market remains on solid footing, though a slower trajectory of growth persists compared to the beginning of the year.