US Jobs Report Disappoints with Modest Growth Amid Ongoing Trade Tensions

The US jobs report for September has shown modest growth in payroll employment and a slight increase in unemployment rate. The number of jobs added was 29,000, which is not considered statistically significant.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, total non-farm job growth has been sluggish, with an estimated gain of just 29,000 jobs this month.

This is in contrast to the strong growth seen in August, and analysts are pointing to the ongoing trade conflict with Canada as a potential factor in the slow job growth. The report notes that previous AAF research has found that tariffs can hurt employment growth.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 percent, which is not statistically significant from the previous month's rate. Average hourly earnings grew by only 0.1 percent, which may not be enough to keep pace with inflation.