The US economy added a surprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, but unemployment ticked up to 4.4 percent, according to a two-months-late report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The increase in payrolls was more than double the 50,000 economists had forecast.
The report for September came seven weeks late due to the longest government shutdown in history, which began on Oct. 1., before the first Friday of the month, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics historically releases the non-farm payroll employment numbers.
The government reopened last week. But the bureau said it will not publish the October jobs report because of the government shutdown.
The report shows a higher rate of unemployment than earlier this year, when the unemployment rate was at 4.1 percent in January. In addition, the report revised down jobs numbers for July from 79,000 jobs added to 72,000 jobs added and revised numbers for August from adding 22,000 jobs to losing 4,000 jobs.
This also comes as inflation continues to rise partially because of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. Last week, Trump slashed tariffs for products including bananas, beef and coffee that the United States does not produce enough to keep up with demand.
Health care proved to be the strongest sector in the economy, adding 43,000 jobs while in food service and drinking establishments added 37,000 jobs. But employment in transportation and warehousing dropped by 25,000 jobs.
Employment in the the federal government shed 3,000 jobs, down from its peak of 97,000 jobs. At the same time, the report does not count people on paid leave or receiving severance pay, meaning that it is hard to determine people who lost their jobs due to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency’s slashing spree.
Despite the fact that Trump has emphasized increased oil drilling in the United States and bragged about allowing oil companies to “drill, baby, drill,” jobs in mining and quarrying as well as oil and gas extraction remained relatively the same.
Wages saw a slight increase of 9 cents in the last month and in the past 12 months wages grew by 3.8 percent, which is only about 0.8 percent larger than the rate of inflation the last year, a sign that consumer spending power has declined significantly.
The news comes weeks ahead of the Federal Reserve having its final meeting of the year in December to determine interest rates. The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in late October, but Chairman Jerome Powell said an interest rate cut in December was not a guarantee.
The numbers as Trump continues to face criticism for his handling of the economy.
A Fox News poll released on Wednesday showed that 46 percent of voters believe Trump’s economic policies hurt them and only 15 percent said they helped. That number are almost identical to how voters felt about Joe Biden’s economic policies at the end of Biden’s presidency.
Earlier this month, Democrats swept elections in New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia and elsewhere by focusing on affordability and the cost of living.
Trump has vocally criticized the Bureau of Labor Statistics during his presidency. In August, Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner for the bureau, after it reported that the economy added only 73,000 jobs in July and revised down jobs numbers.
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