![]() In just-released numbers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that more than 336,000 new jobs were created nationally in September, the largest jump in employment since last January. Looking at the trend lines from the opposite direction, the nation’s unemployment rate came in at 3.8%. That under 4% rate has been in evidence since the fall of 2021, marking a sustained low jobless period not seen since the first months of the Nixon Administration in 1969. The nation’s construction industry posted a gain of 11,000 new jobs, with increases seen in a variety of areas, including the residential building, heavy and civil engineering, and residential specialty trade sectors. Noted Anirban Basu, chief economist with the Associated Builders and Contractors: “While a meaningful share of that hiring relates to infrastructure and large-scale manufacturing projects, several other subsegments, such as data centers and health care, enter the fourth quarter with momentum.” In a statement, Julie Su, acting secretary of the Labor Department, noted the job market “continues to bring workers off the sidelines,” with particularly pronounced gains in the restaurant and bar industry accounting for 61,000 new jobs. By far the largest gains were posted in the leisure and hospitality sector, with 96,000 new jobs, followed by new government hiring at 73,000, and 70,000 new jobs in the education and health sectors. The new figures, notes the New York Times, were “almost double what economists had forecast.” Said the Wall Street Journal: “Surging U.S. job growth shattered investors’ expectations." In a statement, Jason Furman, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said he was shocked by the new numbers, noting that participation in the job market “remains high.” Furman added: “We could be in the middle of a sustainable increase in labor supply.” Analysts had forecast new September job numbers in the neighborhood of 170,000, following gains of just over 200,000 in July and August. By Garry Boulard
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