US Labor Market Hits Slowdown as Midterms Loom

The US labor market slowed down in September, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The economy added only 29,000 jobs, fewer than the expected 84,000 by economists. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, a 0.1% increase from August.

Average hourly earnings for workers rose only 3% from a year ago, with a 0.1% gain from the previous month. This marks the sixth consecutive month of wages tracking below inflation, according to NBC News.

The BLS reported that 60,000 jobs were revised out of previous months' initial readings, with the change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July and August revised down by 31,000 and 29,000 respectively.

September's hiring was the third weakest this year, behind February's loss of 156,000 jobs and July's loss of 10,000 jobs. Economists expected an unchanged employment rate at 4.1% and earnings that increased by 3.1% from a year ago, according to a Dow Jones survey.