Stronger-Than-Expected Jobs Report Gets a 'Wow'

Feds say employers added 254K jobs last month
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 4, 2024 8:25 AM CDT
Jobs Report Is Much Stronger Than Expected
Auto mechanics work on a vehicle at the Express Auto Service Inc., in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

America's employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, the latest evidence that the US labor market is still solid enough to support steady hiring and a growing economy. Last month's hiring gain was up sharply from the 159,000 jobs that were added in August, and the unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% to 4.1%, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected employers to add around 150,000 jobs in September. More:

  • Companies remain confident. The latest figures suggest that many companies are still confident enough to fill jobs despite the continued pressure of high interest rates, the AP reports. Few employers are laying off workers, though many have grown more cautious about hiring.

  • July and August were better than thought. The report revised August's job growth upward by 17,000, CNBC reports. July's figure was revised up by 55,000, bringing the total to 144,000.
  • "Soft landing" may have been achieved. The economy's resilience has come as a relief. Economists had expected that the Fed's aggressive campaign to subdue inflation—it jacked up interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023—would cause a recession. It didn't. The economy kept growing even in the face of ever-higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. Most economists say the Fed appears to have achieved the once unlikely prospect of a "soft landing,'' in which high interest rates help vanquish inflation without triggering a recession.

  • "Wow." "It was 'wow' across the board, much stronger than expected," Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab, tells CNBC. "The bottom line is it was a very good report. You get upward revisions and it tells you the job market continues to be healthy, and that means the economy is healthy."
  • Lingering worries. Companies seem generally reluctant to let workers go even though some are also hesitant to expand their payrolls. That unusual dynamic may stem from many employers having been caught flat-footed and short of staff after the economy began roaring back from the pandemic recession, the AP reports. Posted job openings, too, have declined steadily, to 8 million in August, after having peaked at 12.2 million in March 2022.
(More jobs report stories.)

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