U.S. added 29,000 jobs in September; unemployment up to 4.2%

U.S. employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, well below expectations, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls across all industries showed very little change over August but unemployment crept up by 0.1%. About 7.1 million people were unemployed in September.

Among the industries that posted job gains, however modestly, health care recorded that greatest gains, up 17,000. While it is an increase, it is also a slowdown beneath the 33,000 average monthly jobs added over the past 12 months.

Jobs in financial activities saw the greatest decrease in employment, down 7,000 jobs in September. Since May 2025, jobs related to insurance have fallen by 90,000.

"For the [Federal Reserve], this number should be the nail in the coffin for an October hike," Thomas Simons, chief U.S. economist for Jeffries, said of a Federal Reserve benchmark interest rate increase. "It now appears that the August number was nothing more than a rebound from a very weak hiring in June and July."

Friday's jobs report comes in much cooler than what economists projected. The Dow Jones consensus estimate forecasted 84,000 jobs added in September with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.1%.

The report also made corrections to July and August's reports, revising job gains down by a total of 60,000 combined.