The latest official snapshot of the American labour market has finally been released, revealing a stronger-than-anticipated performance for September after a significant delay caused by a federal government shutdown.
Key Findings from the Delayed Report
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the US economy added 119,000 jobs in September. This figure substantially outperformed analysts' expectations, which had predicted a modest gain of just 51,000 positions. Amidst the heightened economic uncertainty, the national unemployment rate held steady at 4.4%.
The publication of this critical data was thrown into disarray by the shutdown of the federal government, which pushed the release back by six weeks. It was originally scheduled for October. In the absence of official data, the private ADP report had indicated a loss of 29,000 jobs in September, followed by a gain of 42,000 in October.
Data Disruption and Historical Revisions
The prolonged shutdown has caused further complications for economic analysts. The BLS confirmed that the complete official jobs report for October will not be released as a standalone publication. Data collection and processing were halted during the shutdown, meaning the official figures for job creation in October will be bundled with the November report and published in mid-December.
This September update follows a previously noted slowdown in the US jobs market. The report for August showed only 22,000 jobs were added, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.3%, its highest level since 2021.
In a major revision that casts previous growth in a new light, the BLS also announced that 911,000 fewer jobs were added in the year leading up to March 2025 than initially reported. This significant downward adjustment of labour force data had immediate political consequences.
Political Fallout and Firings
The sagging job numbers earlier in the year incited a strong reaction from former President Donald Trump. Following a weak July jobs report, Trump fired BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer in August. At the time, he made baseless claims that the official statistics were "rigged" to make him and the Republican party look bad.
The delayed September report now provides a clearer, though fragmented, picture of the US economy's resilience amidst political and fiscal challenges, setting the stage for the next round of data in December.
