US economy added 254,000 jobs in September, logging surprisingly robust growth

By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — US job growth surged in September, blowing past expectations and providing solid reassurance for the ongoing stability of the labor market.

Employers added an estimated 254,000 jobs in September, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s a much higher tally than August’s monthly total (which was upwardly revised to 159,000) and it smashed economists’ expectations for a 140,000-job gain.

The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% from 4.2%, the BLS report showed.

“We had a bounce-back now in September from what were relatively sluggish numbers in July and August,” Brian Bethune, economist and professor at Boston College, told CNN. “So it looks like we’re still on track. The economy is expanding and we have a very high probability of achieving a soft landing (of reining in high inflation without triggering a recession).”

Robust service-sector hiring — particularly across the health care (+71,700) and leisure and hospitality (+78,000) industries — drove last month’s job gains. Service industries accounted for 202,000 of the monthly gains.

Hiring was more muted across goods-producing industries. Although the construction sector added 25,000 jobs last month (a pace that exceeded pre-pandemic averages), the manufacturing sector, which employs close to 13 million people, downshifted very slightly and logged a loss off 7,000 jobs.

The Federal Reserve, now keenly focused on protecting the labor market as high inflation appears to have been tamed, is closely scrutinizing employment data for any signs of weakness.

September’s report was anything but.

“A truly monster jobs number today,” Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FwdBonds LLC, wrote in commentary issued Friday.

“The economic expansion remains on course for now,” he wrote. “The outlook for the economy in the months ahead is quite favorable according to the September jobs report. The economy could end the year on a high note after weathering the growth and employment markets scare a couple of months ago.”

This story is developing and will be updated.

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