September U.S. Jobs Report: 336,000 Rise in Payrolls, Well Above Expectations

The U.S. economy added 336,000 jobs in September, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The government’s report revised up previous estimates for new job creation in August and July.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8%.

Nonfarm payroll employment had been forecast to rise by 159,000, and the unemployment rate was expected to fall to 3.7%, according to FactSet’s consensus estimates.

September Jobs Report Key Stats

• Total nonfarm payrolls climbed by 336,000 versus an upward revised 227,000 in August.
• The unemployment rate held steady at 3.8%.
• Average hourly wages increased by 0.2% to $33.88 after rising 0.2% in August.

In September, average hourly wages grew by 7 cents, or 0.2%, to $33.88. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4.2%.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.4 in September. For manufacturing employees, the average workweek increased to 40.1 hours in September, and overtime was unchanged at 3.1 hours. For production and nonsupervisory employees, the average workweek fell to 33.8 hours from 33.9 the prior month.