In September, the United States added a total of 263,000 new items to payrolls. Nonfarm employment data remained the weakest since early 2021, yet the figure was still stronger than economists expected, reinforcing confidence in the resilience of the US labor market. The result supported a modest drop in the unemployment rate, moving from 3.7% to 3.5% as hiring continued to outpace expectations.
Looking at the year so far, job creation averaged well over 400,000 positions per month in 2022, following gains of 315,000 in August and 537,000 in July. This pace stands in contrast to 562,000 monthly jobs recorded in 2021, illustrating a cooling yet still robust labor market trajectory.
The sectors contributing most to September gains were leisure and hospitality, alongside health care services. These areas led the charge in expanding employment, underscoring ongoing demand for workers in consumer-facing and essential service industries.
On the employment front, the number of unemployed people fell to 5.8 million in September, with long-term unemployment totaling about 1.1 million. This long-term segment accounted for roughly 18.5% of total unemployment, highlighting persistent challenges for workers without recent job experience.
Participation in the labor force stood at 62.3% in September, continuing to trail the pre-pandemic February 2020 level by about 1.1 percentage points. The August to September period showed a stable labor pool, reflecting ongoing labor market dynamics as the economy adjusted post pandemic disruptions.
Among the sectors posting the sharpest gains in September were leisure and hospitality as well as health care, reinforcing the pattern of steady expansion in both consumer services and health-related employment.
Specifically, entertainment and accommodation added 83,000 jobs in September, aligning with the average monthly increase seen in the first eight months of the year. Health care contributed 60,000 new positions during the same month, underscoring the ongoing need for medical and support staff.
In September, about 5.2% of employees reported working remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, down from 6.5% in the previous month. This marks a continued decline from May 2020, when remote work first began to be tracked and stood at 35.4%, illustrating a long-running shift in work arrangements as the economy evolved.
Average hourly earnings rose modestly in September, increasing by ten cents to reach $32.46. This 0.3% gain for the month contributed to a 5% year-over-year rise in typical earnings, reflecting continued wage growth alongside job gains and varying inflation pressures.
As employment improved, the overall unemployment figure declined to 5.8 million in September, with 1.1 million of those unemployed categorized as long-term. This long-term share represented about 18.5% of total unemployment, signaling that some workers face extended periods without work after losing employment.
Additionally, the labor force participation rate remained at 62.3% in September, continuing to hover roughly 1.1 points below the February 2020 pandemic level, underscoring the enduring effects of the broader labor market transition on participation dynamics.