U.S. job creation totaled 254,000 in September, much better than expected

The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in September, pointing to a vital employment picture as the unemployment rate edged lower, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls surged by 254,000 for the month, up from a revised 159,000 in August and better than the 150,000 Dow Jones consensus forecast. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, down 0.1 percentage point.

With upward revisions from previous months, the report eases concerns about the state of the labor market and likely locks in the Federal Reserve to a more gradual pace of interest rate reductions. August’s total was revised up by 17,000 while July saw a much larger addition of 55,000, taking the monthly growth up to 144,000.

Strength in job creation spilled over to wages, as average hourly earnings increased 0.4% on the month and were up 4% from a year ago. Both figures were ahead of respective estimates for gains of 0.3% and 3.8%.

Restaurants and bars led job creation for the month, with the hospitality industry adding 69,000 positions in September after averaging just 14,000 over the previous 12 months.

Health care, a consistent leader in job growth, contributed 45,000, while government grew by 31,000. Other gainers included social assistance (27,000) and construction (25,000).

A more encompassing measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons dropped to 7.7%. The share of the workforce either working or looking for work, known as the labor force participation rate, held steady at 62.7%.

The survey of household employment, which is used to calculate the unemployment rate, showed an even stronger picture, with a gain of 430,000 as the employment-to-population ratio increasing to 60.2%, an increase of 0.2 percentage point.

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