U.S. economy adds 29K jobs, unemployment 4.2% in September

Healthcare employment, a critical driver of job growth, added 17,000 positions in September. On average, the healthcare industry added 33,000 jobs per month in the last year. 

Orphe Divounguy, chief economist of the Quantitiatve Research Group and a former economist at Zillow, told The Center Square that the jobs market is in a unique position. 

"The labor market has been stuck in a 'low-hire, low-fire' pattern: companies aren't laying people off, but they aren't adding many either," Divounguy said. 

Employment in construction changed little through the month of September, as the industry added 11,000 jobs. Divounguy attributed steady jobs in construction to the roll out of data centers. 

"Construction spending has shifted toward data centers, and that's supporting hiring in the sector even as higher [interest] rates weigh on other kinds of building," Divounguy said. 

The September report is a stark decline from the 162,000 jobs added in August. Divounguy attributed most of August's job growth to restaurants and local public schools. 

"The schools jump mostly reversed a July drop. It looks like a seasonal-adjustment quirk from the school calendar, not a hiring wave," Divounguy told The Center Square. "The trend is the better guide."

The BLS revised August's jobs down by 29,000, from a gain to 162,000 to a gain of 133,000.

Manufacturing employment increased by 9,000 in September, reflecting an overall boost of 72,000 since a December 2025 low. 

Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial, said the report highlights how industries are seeking more employees in construction rather than the service industry.

"We are seeing the tension between the goods-producing sectors that support the AI boom and the services-producing sectors that are feeling the impact of technological change," Roach told The Center Square. 

In September, average hourly earnings increased by 0.1%. Over the last year, average hourly earnings increased by 3%, the lowest in five years, and below current inflation of 3.5%. 

"The typical hourly paycheck buys less than it did a year ago," Divounguy told The Center Square. "Right now, Americans are keeping up by working longer, not by earning more per hour. They're also saving less and using their invested wealth to fill the gaps."

"The jobs report answers two questions for a family: How secure is my paycheck, and how hard would it be to find a new one? Right now, the answers are different," Divounguy said. "Layoffs are low, so people with jobs are relatively secure. But people who lose a job are having a harder time getting back in."