Jobs Report Shows Weaker Than Expected Growth
September's jobs report was weaker than expected, according to data released by the BLS. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 29,000, which is a much lower increase than economists had predicted. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 percent.
The data also shows that revisions to previous months' numbers were negative, with July's nonfarm payroll employment revised down by 31,000 and August's revised down by 29,000. This means that the total number of jobs created in those two months is actually lower than previously reported.
One of the major issues with the BLS data is its reliability. The agency admits that its household charts are often inaccurate due to annual revisions. To correct for this, they provide an 'experimental' series that normalizes employment levels to match nonfarm payrolls. However, even these numbers have their own set of problems.