WASHINGTON — The U.S. added just 29,000 jobs in September, falling far short of analysts’ expectations for an increase of about 84,000, according to Labor Department data released Friday. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.2% in September from 4.1% the previous month.
Net revisions subtracted 60,000 jobs from the prior two months, leaving the three-month moving average of hiring stable at 51,000. The labor force participation rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 61.8%, and wage growth continued to trend lower, with average hourly earnings easing to 3% year over year.
Markets judged the softer report as giving the Federal Reserve more time before adjusting policy further. Fed funds futures are pricing in around a 20% probability of a rate increase at the central bank’s October meeting, down from close to 30% before the data release, according to Commerzbank Research analysts.
“The main theme was a reversal towards risk-on sentiment as a sharply weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report eased fears of further tightening” by the Fed, the analysts wrote. The S&P 500 closed up 0.7% and the Dow up 0.5% on Friday.
Asian equity markets advanced Monday morning on the data, with Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rising 2.2%. Crude oil futures declined, weighed down by the Group of Seven’s plan to release up to 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel from emergency stocks over four months.
