WASHINGTON - Hiring in the US picked up significantly more than expected in September, while the jobless rate crept lower, according to government data released on Oct 4, offering relief to policymakers ahead of November’s election.
The health of the job market has come into focus over recent months as high interest rates bite – but the pickup in hiring should assuage concerns that the Federal Reserve waited too long to slash rates in September, risking a downturn. The Fed had rapidly hiked the benchmark lending rate in 2022 to ease demand and tamp down surging inflation.As for wages, average hourly earnings in September were up 0.4 per cent from a month ago to US$35.36 , slightly above expectations.The Fed’s half percentage point rate cut in September was “unusually large”, according to Mr Dan North, senior economist at Allianz Trade North America.
But economist Nancy Vanden Houten from Oxford Economics warned that even though a strike by Boeing workers did not affect September’s employment data much, it could weigh on job growth if it persists through mid-October.