Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 661,000 in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total unemployed persons fell 1.0 million to 12.6 million in September. Despite the increase in nonfarm payroll over the month, unemployment still stands at 7.9%.
Large employment increases occurred in leisure and hospitality, retail trade, health care and social assistance, and in professional and business services.
Employment in leisure and hospitality rose by 318,000, with almost two-thirds of the gain occurring in food services and drinking places with a gain of 200,000 jobs. Retail trade added 142,000 jobs in September, with gains widespread in the industry.
Government employment fell by 216,000 in September. Employment in local government education and state government education fell by 231,000 and 49,000 jobs, respectively.
The civilian labor force participation rate increased to 61.4%. The number of workers on temporary layoff decreased by 1.5 million in to 4.6 million, down considerably from the series high of 18.1 million in April. Workers with permanent job loss increased by 345,000 to 3.8 million. Workers unemployed less than 5 weeks increased by 271,000 to 2.6 million.
Average hourly earnings rose by 2 cents to $29.47.
Read the BLS release.
