U.S. Hiring Surged in September in Boost for Fed Policy

By Joshua Kirby

Hiring picked up pace for the first time in six months, pointing to a rebound in the U.S. economy.

The private sector added 143,000 jobs in September, rising from an upwardly revised 103,000 in August, according to the ADP National Employment report released Wednesday. That ends five straight months of slowdown in the U.S. jobs market, and beats economists' forecasts for a 128,000 rise in new jobs.

Manufacturing, a sector that has struggled this year, added new jobs for the first time since April, suggesting America's factories are beginning to see green shoots of recovery. Service providers booked a stronger rise, at more than 100,000, with information services the only category booking a decline in positions. All regions of the country except one, namely the east south central region, similarly booked stronger hiring over September, the report showed.

The pick-up in the jobs market came over a month in which the Federal Reserve cut rates by half a percentage point, marking the first time in years policymakers have moved to lower borrowing costs and ease restrictions on the U.S. economy. Importantly for the Fed, which is keeping an eye out for signs of resurgent inflation, stronger hiring wasn't accompanied by a surge in pay growth, with job-changers seeing their lowest premium in salary hikes since January.

"Stronger hiring didn't require stronger pay growth last month," said Nela Richardon, ADP's chief economist.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2024 08:42 ET (12:42 GMT)

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