The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, indicating sustained — yet slowing — growth amid increasing concerns of an economic downturn.
In its monthly jobs report released Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also announced that unemployment in the U.S. declined to 3.5 percent — its lowest point in 50 years. The rate fell by 0.2 percent from the month prior, bringing the number of Americans without a job to 5.8 million.
“Today’s jobs report is consistent with our outlook of a gradually slowing growth path,” said Doug Duncan, the chief economist at Fannie Mae. “However, some of the underlying details paint a mixed picture.”
The total jobs added in September missed expectations, which analysts predicted would be roughly 145,000 jobs. Average monthly employment growth so far this year is now 161,000, which remains well below 223,000 average monthly gains in 2018, the BLS reported.
The industries with the most employment gains were health care and professional and business services, adding 39,000 and 34,000 jobs respectively. Other sectors, such as mining, construction, financial activities, and manufacturing, showed negligible change last month.
Average hourly wages across the economy decreased 1 cent in September, reversing a growth trend that saw an 11 cent hike in August and a 9 cent increase in July and June. Over the past year, the BLS said, average hourly wages have grown by 2.9 percent.
The September jobs report comes on the heels of multiple disappointing indicators released in recent days that point to an economic slowdown worldwide.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM), a non-profit trade association, reported this week that the U.S. service industry fell to its lowest point in three years and that the manufacturing sector contracted for the second straight month.
“After the very weak ISM data, there was this anticipation built up that [the jobs report] could be much more negative than what we got,” said Matthew Luzzetti, the chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. “Even though it missed expectations, I don't think it was as bad as feared.”
On Tuesday, moreover, the World Trade Organization warned that enduring trade tensions and weakening economies worldwide are causing a significant decline in global commerce. The instability led the Geneva-based organization to cut its forecast for trade volume growth to just 1.2 percent in 2019, more than 50 percent lower than an earlier estimate.
Friday’s jobs report also comes ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting later this month. The U.S. central bank has already slashed rates twice in recent months to spur growth and sustain expansion.
“The report does little to clarify the divergent views on the Federal Reserve about whether the economy is slowing or not,” Duncan said. “But we continue to believe the Fed will cut rates this quarter due to trade uncertainties and weak manufacturing data.”
President Trump lauded September’s unemployment figure, saying Friday morning that it is a “tremendous number.”
Jay Hatfield, Chief Investment Officer at Infrastructure Capital Management, joined Closing Bell to break down the big factors leading to this latest market meltdown, as inflation and an upcoming Fed policy decision affect investor sentiment.
Tech apprenticeship platform Multiverse became a unicorn with a $1.7 billion valuation, after raising $220 million in a Series D round. As companies across the country face challenges in hiring and retaining tech talent, Multiverse says it's trying to offer a solution with a new way to train and hire workers that can serve as an alternative to college and corporate training. Sophie Ruddock, VP and GM North America of Multiverse, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Bitcoin's price has fallen below $24,000, its lowest level since December 2020. Matt Hougan, CIO at Bitwise Asset Management, joined Cheddar News to discuss the future of crypto amid the latest high-profile point of concern, the halting of withdrawals at Celsius Network. "Last month we saw Luna collapse. This month we're seeing Celsius possibly collapsing," he said. "So this stress test is finding weaknesses in the crypto ecosystem and it will continue until we get to a strong foundation from which crypto can recover."
An analyst at JP Morgan is predicting massive future growth for Apple in its music and gaming divisions — to the tune of more than $8 billion in revenue by 2025. Cheddar News anchors Kristen Scholer and Hena Doba discuss the glowing forecast for the tech giant.
Catching you up on today’s top headlines with Bitcoin falling below $24,000, U.S. gas prices reaching above $5 on average, Tesla shareholders voting on a 3-for-1 stock split, and more.
On this episode of On The Job presented by ADP: Gemma Burgess, CEO of Ferguson Partners, explains what people are looking for in an employer, and how to convey positive work culture to potential employees; Amy Leschke-Kahle, Vice President of Performance Acceleration at The Marcus Buckingham Company, an ADP company, breaks down how encouraging employee engagement and empowering employee voices can benefit every workplace and busts a myth about employee engagement while working from home; Jim Huether, CEO of Hyperice, discusses Hyperice's new employee mental health initiative, known as the Workplace Alliance, with 100-plus companies to combat the ongoing mental health crisis and how they're taking a hands-on, data-driven approach to the mental health crisis.
Amy Leschke-Kahle, Vice President of Performance Acceleration at The Marcus Buckingham Company, an ADP company, joins Cheddar to discuss how encouraging employee engagement and empowering employee voices can benefit every workplace and busts a myth about employee engagement while working from home.
Jim Huether, CEO of Hyperice, joins Cheddar to discuss Hyperice's new employee mental health initiative, known as the Workplace Alliance, with 100-plus companies to combat the ongoing mental health crisis and how they're taking a hands-on, data-driven approach to the mental health crisis.
Consumer prices saw an 8.6 percent jump in May, with fuel prices showing the biggest surge, climbing 17 percent last month. As inflation continues to climb to levels not seen in 40 years, President Biden took to calling out ExxonMobil and other major oil companies, accusing them of holding back production while continuing to collect huge profits at the cost of the consumer. Mark Avallone, the president of Potomac Wealth Advisors, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss. “They have reduced long-term expenditures. But why? Because the world is going to alternative energy and as consumers, if we thought that that welcome change to alternatives was going to happen without pain, we might have been mistaken," he said. "The less investment they make in oil because they're getting ready for a new world of electric vehicles, the less we're going to be prepared for oil shocks such as the one we got when Russia invaded Ukraine."
