WASHINGTON — America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, the latest evidence that the U.S. labor market is still solid enough to support steady hiring and a growing economy.
In its report Friday, the Labor Department also revised up its estimate of job growth in July and August by a combined 72,000. The economy’s progress in taming inflation led the Federal Reserve last month to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time in more than four years. The Fed said it wanted to ease the cost of borrowing to help bolster the job market.
The economy is weighing heavily on voters as the Nov. 5 presidential election nears. Many Americans are unimpressed by the job market’s durability and are still frustrated by high prices, which remain on average 19% above where they were in February 2021. That was when inflation began surging as the economy rebounded with unexpected speed and strength from the pandemic recession, causing severe shortages of goods and labor.
The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, reported that America’s services businesses grew for a third straight month in September and at an unexpectedly fast pace. The economy’s service sector is closely watched because it represents more than 70% of U.S. jobs. Posted job openings, too, have declined steadily, to 8 million in August, after having peaked at 12.2 million in March 2022.