OAN’s Stephanie Stahl
11:53 AM – Friday, October 6, 2023
The U.S. economy witnessed a hefty increase of 336,000 new jobs last month, marking the strongest job growth since January, according to the latest report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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The staggering number more than doubles the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 170,000 new jobs for September.
The surge in employment ranges across several industries, with leisure and hospitality coming in at the top. Within that sector, bars and restaurants saw the most growth, with 61,000 new jobs.
Government employment also saw a notable increase, with a net addition of 73,000 jobs. This marks a significant rise from the 6,000 jobs that were added in the same month last year.
Health care saw an increase of 41,000 jobs, which is below its 12-month average. The data for the BLS survey was collected in mid-September and does not account for the Kaiser Permanente strikes.
Other industries seeing expansion are professional and technical services, and social assistance.
Economists report that this job growth is “good news” for the U.S. economy. It shows that employers are still hiring despite the Federal Reserve continuing to raise interest rates.
Despite this job growth, the unemployment rate held steady at 3.8% in September, staying nearly consistent with the 3.7% forecast.
Recently, investors have been concerned that a strong economy might lead the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates higher for longer, given the persistent inflation.
The Federal Reserve has currently set its target range at 5.25% to 5.50%, which remains the highest it has been in over two decades. The purpose of these elevated interest rates is to slow borrowing and investment, which helps control economic activity as a whole.
Numerous economists are concerned that this series of rate hikes could ultimately lead to a recession.
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