The nation’s economy added 661,000 jobs in September as the unemployment rate fell slightly to 7.9 percent, down from 8.4 percent in August, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday (Oct. 2).
The news comes one month away from the contentious presidential election.
“These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it,” the BLS said in a statement.
Job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, retail, healthcare and professional and business services while employment in state and local governments fell month over month, the BLS reported.
Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate.com, said the last monthly employment report before the presidential election doesn’t do much to change the established narrative about the economy.
“September payroll gains were on the disappointing side, below expectations and well below the pace seen in previous months,” Hamrick said in a statement.
Analysts from S&P Global Ratings had projected 800,000 jobs would be added last month. But gains along those numbers reveal a marked slowing from the months since May. After a gain of 4.8 million jobs in June, employment grew by 1.7 million jobs in July and 1.4 million in August, S&P said.
“The decline in the jobless rate is tainted somewhat by the drop in the labor force participation rate, reflecting the percentage of those working or looking for work,” Hamrick said. He noted the September data revealed double-digit increases in the unemployment rates for Blacks, Hispanics and teenagers.
“The job market continues to recover from the steep downturn seen earlier this year, and still has a considerable way to go to get back to pre-pandemic levels,” he added.
The biggest employment gains were in leisure and hospitality where 318,000 jobs were added in September, with nearly two-thirds of those jobs in food services and pubs. Despite job growth in the sector totaling 3.8 million since May, employment in food services and drinking places is down by 2.3 million since February.
Retail added 142,000 jobs over the month; employment in healthcare grew by 108,000 in September but is down by 1 million since February; professional and business services added 89,000 jobs while manufacturing added 66,000 jobs last month.