U.S. Jobs Increased Well Below Expectations Last Month. Unemployment Rose.

Private payrolls increased by 29,000 in September, well below expectations, while the unemployment rate climbed as well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected nonfarm payrolls to increase by 84,000, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.1%. Health care, construction and manufacturing led the gains, while financial activities fell.

The figures are a sizable slowdown from August. And that month's figures were revised lower to 133,000. July's numbers were also changed, going from a gain to a loss of 10,000. Overall, the revisions showed 60,000 fewer jobs that previously reported.

Payroll growth has been volatile through much of this year, even as the unemployment rate has moved relatively little.

The report comes just days after ADP detailed that private companies created more jobs than expected last month. It said that payrolls increased by 90,000, compared to the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 68,000.

"Hiring accelerated for the first time since May, led by education and health care and leisure and hospitality," the report noted, while "financial activities and professional and business services showed weakness."

Education and health services added 55,000 jobs, while leisure and hospitality added 22,000. In contrast, financial activities shed 16,000 roles and professional and business services 11,000.

ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson described the report as "strong." "After a three-month slowdown, job creation rebounded and pay growth remained solid," she added.

Stable headline employment figures have not translated into greater confidence among workers.

The Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index fell to a record low in September, the third time it has reached a new low this year.

Just 42.9% of employees who submitted reviews to Glassdoor reported a positive six-month outlook for their employer, down from a revised 44.5% in August.

Glassdoor Chief Economist Daniel Zhao said concerns over job security, economic uncertainty and inflation had weighed on sentiment.

Mentions of AI in employee reviews were up 164% from a year earlier, while references to uncertainty rose 84%, inflation increased 22% and layoffs were mentioned 13% more often, according to Glassdoor.

Other labor-market indicators point to limited layoffs.

U.S.-based employers announced 43,281 job cuts in September, down 18% from August and 20% from the same month last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That was the lowest September total since 2022.

Through the first nine months of the year, employers announced 573,195 job cuts, down 39% from the same period in 2025, Challenger said.