Jobless Rate Steady

Washington, DC, Oct. 3–Employers expanded their payrolls for the first time in eight months as the jobless rate held steady in September.

Nonfarm business payrolls rose by 57,000 last month, ending a seven-month streak in which nearly 500,000 jobs were cut, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate came in at 6.1%, the same as August’s rate.

Economists had expected payrolls to shrink by 25,000 and the unemployment to tick higher to 6.2%, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC.

Employers added jobs in all but a few major sectors. The manufacturing industry cut 29,000 jobs, the smallest number in more than a year. The leisure and hospitality industry cut 3,000 jobs, the same as in August. The government cut 15,000 jobs, marking the seventh consecutive month of decline.

But the service-producing industry added 74,000 jobs, the largest increase since January. The businesses-services industry added 66,000 jobs, the largest increase in more than a year. The retail-trade industry added 10,000 jobs, also the biggest increase in more than a year. The construction industry added 14,000 jobs, down from a 19,000 gain in August.