Newsroom

Friday's jobs report – with 134,000 jobs gained in September – revealed solid job growth with upward revisions from prior months. NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long noted that while some industries were impacted by Hurricane Florence, they should experience a rebound next month.

“This was another solid jobs report. Gains for the month came in below trend, but sizable upward revisions to prior months made up the difference,” said Long. “In addition, although the Labor Department claimed an uncertain impact from Hurricane Florence, the drop in both retail trade and leisure and hospitality – two industries that are vulnerable to weather events – suggests there may be a rebound in store next month. Wage growth slowed but the year-over-year figure should bounce back next month as it will be compared against October 2017, which saw a 4-cent decline from the month prior.”

The unemployment rate decreased to 3.7 percent in September as the labor force expanded 150,000 workers.

In other report data, private-sector payroll employment increased 121,000 jobs during September. The goods-producing sector increased 46,000 jobs, while the service sector increased 75,000 jobs. Public sector employment rose 13,000 from the prior month.

Average hourly earnings increased 8 cents to $27.24 in September. Over the last 12 months, wages are up 2.8 percent. Since 2009, year-over-year wage growth has averaged just 2.3 percent.