Washington, DC...Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000 in September, and the unemployment rate
changed little at 4.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment
continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care, government, social
assistance, and construction.  


 
This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures
labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment
survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information
about the concepts and statistical methodology used in these two surveys, see the Technical
Note.

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|                                     Hurricane Francine				     |
|											     |
| Hurricane Francine made landfall in southern Louisiana on September 11, 2024, during the   |
| reference periods for both the household and establishment surveys. Our analysis suggests  |
| that Hurricane Francine had no discernible effect on national payroll employment, hours,   |
| and earnings from the establishment survey, or the national unemployment rate from the     |
| household survey. Response rates for the two surveys were within normal ranges for	     |
| September. For information on how unusually severe weather can affect employment and	     |
| hours estimates, see the Frequently Asked Questions section of this news release. 	     |
|											     |
| BLS will release the state estimates of employment and unemployment for September on	     |
| October 22, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).							     |
|____________________________________________________________________________________________|

Household Survey Data

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.1 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 6.8
million, changed little in September. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the
jobless rate was 3.8 percent, and the number of unemployed people was 6.3 million. (See table
A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men (3.7 percent) decreased in
September. The jobless rates for adult women (3.6 percent), teenagers (14.3 percent), Whites
(3.6 percent), Blacks (5.7 percent), Asians (4.1 percent), and Hispanics (5.1 percent) showed
little or no change over the month. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of people jobless less than 5 weeks decreased by 322,000 to 2.1 million in September. 
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed over
the month at 1.6 million. This measure is up from 1.3 million a year earlier. In September, the
long-term unemployed accounted for 23.7 percent of all unemployed people. (See table A-12.)

In September, the labor force participation rate was 62.7 percent for the third consecutive
month, and the employment-population ratio was little changed at 60.2 percent. Both measures
changed little over the year. (See table A-1.)
 
The number of people employed part time for economic reasons changed little at 4.6 million in
September. This measure is up from 4.1 million a year earlier. These individuals would have
preferred full-time employment but were working part time because their hours had been reduced
or they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-8.)

The number of people not in the labor force who currently want a job, at 5.7 million, changed
little in September. These individuals were not counted as unemployed because they were not
actively looking for work during the 4 weeks preceding the survey or were unavailable to take
a job. (See table A-1.)

Among those not in the labor force who wanted a job, the number of people marginally attached
to the labor force increased by 204,000 to 1.6 million in September. These individuals wanted
and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had
not looked for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. The number of discouraged workers, a
subset of the marginally attached who believed that no jobs were available for them, changed
little at 445,000 in September. (See Summary table A.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000 in September, higher than the average
monthly gain of 203,000 over the prior 12 months. In September, employment continued to trend
up in food services and drinking places, health care, government, social assistance, and
construction. (See table B-1.)

Employment in food services and drinking places rose by 69,000 in September, well above the
average monthly gain of 14,000 over the prior 12 months.

Health care added 45,000 jobs in September, below the average monthly gain of 57,000 over the
prior 12 months. Over the month, employment rose in home health care services (+13,000),
hospitals (+12,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000).

Employment in government continued its upward trend in September (+31,000). Government had an
average monthly gain of 45,000 jobs over the prior 12 months. Over the month, employment
continued to trend up in local government (+16,000) and state government (+13,000).

Employment in social assistance increased by 27,000 in September, primarily in individual and
family services (+21,000). Over the prior 12 months, social assistance had added an average of
21,000 jobs per month.

Construction employment continued to trend up in September (+25,000), similar to the average
monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+19,000). Over the month, nonresidential specialty
trade contractors added 17,000 jobs.

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining,
quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade;
transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business
services; and other services.

In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased
by 13 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $35.36. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have
increased by 4.0 percent. In September, average hourly earnings of private-sector production
and nonsupervisory employees increased by 8 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $30.33. (See tables B-3
and B-8.)

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour to
34.2 hours in September. In manufacturing, the average workweek was unchanged at 40.0 hours,
and overtime edged down by 0.1 hour to 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and
nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 33.7 hours. (See tables B-2
and B-7.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised up by 55,000, from +89,000
to +144,000, and the change for August was revised up by 17,000, from +142,000 to +159,000.
With these revisions, employment in July and August combined is 72,000 higher than previously
reported. (Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and
government agencies since the last published estimates and from the recalculation of seasonal
factors.)

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The Employment Situation for October is scheduled to be released on Friday, November 1, 2024, 
at 8:30 a.m. (ET).