Hiring Slows as U.S. Jobs Report Shows Labor Market Shifting Into Lower Gear

A weaker-than-expected report on the labor market released on Friday affirmed a widespread sentiment: the U.S.economy does not feel as if it is delivering prosperity to everyone.Employers added 29,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent, data released Friday by the Labor Department showed, slower than expected growth for a job market that had appeared robust in recent months.That resiliency has stood in tension with the strain of higher prices as inflation has marched higher since the start of the war in Iran.

For most workers, wages haven’t kept up.Growth in average hourly earnings fell to 3.0 percent on an annual basis in September, well below inflation, and the slowest since the pandemic.

Employment gains for July and August were revised down by a combined 60,000 jobs.“The labor market is stable, but it’s not picking up.It’s soft,” said Claudia Sahm, a former Federal Reserve analyst and the chief economist at New Century Advisors.

“The labor market is OK, it’s just who you are in the labor market that matters, and more than usual.”That softness relative to some previous jobs reports may feel a bit more reflective of how people feel about an economy where prices are climbing and consumer sentiment is plumbing multiyear lows....