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.”
The Robin Hood Foundation is New York City's largest poverty-fighting organization. For more than 30 years, Robin Hood has built and fueled non-profits across all five boroughs. CEO Richard Buery joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell ahead of his ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange and later, lighting of the NYSE Christmas tree.
Creator commerce platform LTK raised $300 million in a recent funding round, now valuing the company at $2 billion. LTK is the world's largest influencer marketing platform and is known for helping to pioneer the so-called 'creator economy.' The company helps content creators make money off of their social media posts by hosting them on one central marketplace. LTK says more than $3 million in products are bought each year on its website and app. Now, the company is looking to continue its growth. LTK co-founder and president Amber Venz Box joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
As cases of the COVID-19 Omicron variant continue to pop up, including the first U.S. case in California, how will domestic holiday travel be impacted? That part of the travel sector has mostly recovered from the year-long pandemic rout, while business travel continues its slump. But could a new variant bring new lockdowns and domestic restrictions? Clint Henderson, Senior News Editor at The Points Guy, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what the omicron variant means for holiday travel, best practices for passengers traveling through airports, and more.
Microsoft recently announced the standalone Teams Essentials as businesses continue to update their practices for the new norm of hybrid work life. Jared Spataro, corporate VP at Microsoft Modern Work, joined Cheddar to talk about solutions the tech giant has rolled out in order to help underserved small and medium-sized companies continue operations seamlessly. "We're excited about the opportunity to serve their needs better, and that, in particular, is focused on their meeting and communication needs," he said. "We start with Teams, which has been a wildly successful product for us up in the enterprise space, and now we have created a form of Teams that is particularly suited for small businesses."
Online resale platform eBay is growing its investment in the sneakers market after acquiring Sneaker Con's authentication business. Garry Thaniel, general manager of sneakers at eBay, spoke to Cheddar about why this was an ideal time to take the already established relationship between the companies to vet collectible footwear. "The sneaker market is valued at over $20 billion, and what we've seen at eBay is quarter-over-quarter, double-digit growth," he noted. "When we talk about our partnership with Sneaker Con, we've authenticated over a million and a half sneakers in just over a year."
No matter what you're in the market for this holiday season, there is one way that you can put some cash back in your pocket and stretch your gift budget a little bit further this year. With Lolli, for every gift you buy for someone else, you get the gift of free bitcoin back. CEO of Lolli, Alex Adelman, joins Cheddar News.
Just about a week after being re-nominated, Federal Reserve Chair Jermone Powell is changing his tune. After nearly a year of referring to inflation as 'transitory,' Powell said he will retire the 'T' word as inflation remains elevated. Christopher Russo, Post-Graduate Research Fellow, Mercatus Center joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
With the delta variant, financial uncertainty, political polarization and more, companies have had to get creative in order to stay afloat this year. During times of stress and anxiety, consumers tend to stick with more established brands or products they already use. That sentiment is reflected in data intelligence company Morning Consult's annual list of the Fastest Growing Brands, which measures growth for both emerging and established companies. Joanna Piacenza, head of industry intelligence at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar to break down the key findings of the report.
Iwao Fusillo, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, GM, joins Cheddar News to dispel myths and cut straight to the facts about GM's role in an all-electric future.
Goldman Sachs is rolling out an Amazon Web Service for trading firms called GS Financial Cloud for Data with Amazon Web Services. The move comes as Wall Street looks to keep up with today's evolving tech.
