U.S. Job Creation: September Report Deflating

U.S. job creation came up short again in September with just 194,000 added, marking the second disappointing monthly increase in a row. U.S. economic growth continued to decelerate in September on COVID concerns, driving hiring to its slowest pace since January. Surprisingly, the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since February 2020, down 0.3 percentage points to 4.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The deflating report comes as the labor market recovery has stalled following sizable jumps in employment from May through July when more than 2.5 million jobs were added. The headline number was hurt by a 123,000 decline in government payrolls, while private payrolls increased by 317,000.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

David Schollaert

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