US added 29,000 jobs in September as unemployment edged up to 4.2%

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 2 that employers added 29,000 jobs in September 2026 and the unemployment rate edged up to 4.2%. The modest payroll increase, together with downward revisions to July and August, shows that hiring was weaker over the summer than earlier estimates suggested. The agency described both September payroll employment and the unemployment rate as little changed.

September's gain followed an average monthly increase of 45,000 jobs over the preceding 12 months, according to the bureau. The new report is an initial estimate: monthly payroll figures can change when additional employer reports arrive. That matters especially this month because revisions substantially altered the recent comparison for hiring.

How July and August job figures changed

The bureau revised July from a gain of 21,000 jobs to a loss of 10,000. It revised August from a gain of 162,000 to a gain of 133,000. Together, the two months had 60,000 fewer jobs than previously reported. The August gain still exceeded September's, but July now appears as a month of falling payroll employment rather than growth.

The bureau says revisions can reflect additional reports from businesses and government agencies, as well as recalculated seasonal factors. September's 29,000 figure may also be revised in later releases. The revisions therefore change the measured pace of recent hiring without, on their own, establishing how employment will move in coming months.

Which industries added and lost jobs in September

Construction employment rose by 11,000 and manufacturing added 9,000. Financial activities lost 7,000 jobs. The bureau said employment across major industries changed little overall, a broader assessment that puts those individual sector movements in context. Its detailed report also listed information and professional and business services among industries showing little change over the month.

Financial activities employment stood 129,000 below its May 2025 peak, the bureau reported. Insurance carriers and related activities accounted for 90,000 of that decline. That longer comparison describes a sustained reduction within one broad industry; it should not be confused with the 7,000 jobs that financial activities lost in September alone.

What the unemployment and wage figures show

The unemployment rate rose from 4.1% in August to 4.2% in September. The bureau counted 7.1 million unemployed people and said that total changed little. Labor force participation increased by 0.2 percentage point to 61.8%, while the share of the population employed increased by 0.1 point to 59.2%. Those measures describe different aspects of the labor market, so a small rise in the unemployment rate can sit alongside increases in participation and employment.

The unemployment rate for Black workers rose by one percentage point to 7.0%, according to the bureau. The rate for White workers was 3.6% and changed little over the month. The overall rate therefore does not capture every group's experience. The bureau also counted 1.9 million people who had been unemployed for at least 27 weeks, representing 27.1% of all unemployed people.

Average hourly earnings for private nonfarm employees rose five cents, or 0.1%, in September to $37.81. Compared with a year earlier, they were up 3.0%. The average private nonfarm workweek remained 34.4 hours. Separately, 4.5 million people were working part time for economic reasons, a number the bureau said changed little. That category covers people who wanted full-time jobs but had reduced hours or could not find full-time work.

What the next jobs report can clarify

The employment report draws on two monthly surveys. The household survey measures people's labor force status, including unemployment; the establishment survey measures payroll jobs, hours and earnings by industry. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a share of the labor force, while the 29,000 payroll figure comes from the employer survey. Reading those measures together gives a fuller account of September than either headline figure alone.

Zillow Research calculated that payroll gains averaged 51,000 a month over the three months through September, compared with 179,000 three years earlier. It said slower labor force growth means the lower pace is not necessarily alarming. That is Zillow's interpretation of the data, not a bureau finding or a forecast of what comes next. The bureau has scheduled its October employment report for November 6; it may also revise September's estimate as more information becomes available.