US September Nonfarm Payrolls Rise 29,000, Far Below Forecast

U.S. nonfarm payrolls rose far less than expected in September.

The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on October 2 that nonfarm payrolls increased by 29,000 in September. That was well below the market forecast for an 89,000 gain.

The September unemployment rate, released the same day, came in at 4.2%, 0.1 percentage point higher than the 4.1% forecast.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.1%, also below the 0.3% estimate.