Payrolls rose 263,000 in September as the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% amid Fed rate hikes
Job growth fell short of expectations in September as efforts by the Federal Reserve to slow inflation took their toll on hiring, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000 for the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 275,000. The unemployment rate was 3.5% versus the forecast of 3.7%. September’s payroll figure marked a deceleration from the 315,000 gain in August and tied for the lowest monthly increase since April 2021. In the closely watched wage numbers, average hourly earnings rose 0.3% on the month, in line with estimates, and 5% from a year ago, an increase that is still well above the pre-pandemic norm but 0.1 percentage point below the forecast. Stock market futures moved lower after the release while government bond yields rose. From a sector view, leisure and hospitality led the gains with an increase of 83,000, a gain that still left the industry 1.1 million jobs short of its February 2020 pre-pandemic levels. Elsewhere, health car...