U.S. Jobs Market Unexpectedly Strong

Total nonfarm payroll employment in the U.S. rose by 336,000 in September, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. As a result, the job market – whose uptick was the largest since January – was variously characterized by major publications as “booming,” (USA Today); “surging,” (The Wall Street Journal); and  “sizzling,” (Reuters).

The biggest gains occurred in leisure and hospitality; government; health care; professional, scientific and technical services; and social assistance.  However, employment showed little change over the month in the following sectors: retail, mining,  quarrying, oil and gas extraction, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, financial activities and other services.

“The U.S. labor market clearly still has some gas in the tank,” Nick Bunker, head of economic research for job site Indeed.com, told USA Today.