According to the US Department of Labor (Non-Farm Payrolls report), in September, the United States labor market continued to generate jobs at a steady pace, albeit with a slight slowdown compared to August. In particular, the number of people employed in the non-agricultural sector increased by 263 thousand people in September, while analysts predicted an increase of 250 thousand people. In August, 315 thousand new jobs were created in the American economy. The unemployment rate fell by two tenths of a percentage point to 3.5% (the consensus forecast was 3.7%) – to 5.8 million people. Average hourly earnings grew on a monthly basis by 0.3% (consensus 0.3%), and on an annual basis – by 5.0% (consensus 5.1%). According to the Ministry of Labor, a noticeable increase in jobs occurred in the recreation and hotel business, as well as in the healthcare sector. Immediately after the publication of employment data, futures for the three main indexes remained virtually unchanged: the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2% in pre-market trading, the S&P 500 remained unchanged, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3%.
