US job growth outperforms expectations as hiring resurges and unemployment drops

A resurgence of hiring added a quarter-million jobs last month across the country and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%, according to new government data released Friday.

The addition of 254,000 jobs in September was well above the average 203,000 monthly gains over the past year. It blew past analysts’ expectations and, after a slowing of job growth over the summer, suggests the economy has more legs than previously thought.

The strong hiring, plus a pickup in wage gains to a 4% annual pace – notably faster than the rate of inflation – comes with just a month left before the national election in which the economy has been a top concern for voters. Employers in various industries added to their payrolls, led by eating and drinking businesses, health care and government.

With inflation falling sharply from 2022 levels and returning to a path of modest price increases, the Federal Reserve last month cut interest rates for the first time since 2020 to protect the job market. The Fed meets again in early November, and Friday’s report could give some policymakers pause in making another rate reduction right away.

The nation’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, has inched back down after rising to 4.3% in July.

The September employment data for states will be released in two weeks. The most recent jobless figure for California was 5.3% in August, although the state has in recent months been keeping pace with the national rate of job growth.