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US jobs market slows sharply before midterm elections October 3, 2026 · 6:00 · Economy and work · With Maya and Omar
The United States added only 29,000 jobs in September, and unemployment rose slightly to 4.2%. Omar, what is the main message from this report? The main message is that hiring…
Transcript Maya You are listening to Slow English FM, with a clear look at the news. I’m Maya. Omar covers the economy and work. Thank you for joining us. Maya The United States added only 29,000 jobs in September, and unemployment rose slightly to 4.2%. Omar, what is the main message from this report? Omar The main message is that hiring slowed sharply. The September figure is much lower than the gains reported earlier. But the report does not show a labor market in collapse. The Guardian describes a labor market that is cooling. Unemployment has stayed relatively steady, while job openings and the number of hires have changed little. Maya Let’s look at the number itself. Economists expected just under 70,000 new jobs, but the report showed 29,000. How large is that difference, and what does it tell us? Omar The result was less than half of the expectation reported by The Guardian. It shows that employers added far fewer jobs than economists had expected for September. It also shows why one monthly report needs context. Earlier figures were revised down. July was revised to a loss of 10,000 jobs, while August was revised to 133,000 new jobs. So the picture of recent hiring became weaker after those revisions. Maya Where were the new jobs created? And which parts of the economy recorded losses? Omar The job gains were concentrated in health care. That sector added 17,000 jobs. The information, finance, and professional services industries recorded losses, according to the report cited by The Guardian. This means the small overall increase was not spread evenly across the economy. Maya The report also says wages grew more slowly. Please explain that part in simple terms. What happened to average hourly earnings? Omar Average hourly earnings grew by 3% over the year. The report says that was the slowest increase in more than five years. In simple terms, average pay was still higher than a year earlier, but it was rising at a slower rate than before. The supplied report does not give a wider measure of household income, so this wage figure should be kept separate from claims about people’s overall financial situation. Maya Unemployment rose to 4.2%. Some listeners may hear that and think the labor market is falling apart. Does the evidence support that stronger conclusion? Omar No. The reported figures support a more limited conclusion. Unemployment rose slightly to 4.2%, and hiring was weak. At the same time, The Guardian says unemployment has stayed relatively steady, and that job openings and the number of hires have changed little. So the evidence points to cooling, not a collapse. That is an interpretation of the reported pattern, not a forecast of what will happen next. Maya There is also a different number from the private sector. ADP reported 90,000 private-sector jobs in September. Why is that not the same as the official monthly figure? Omar The two figures measure different parts of the labor market. The September employment report counted 29,000 jobs, while private-sector data from ADP reported 90,000 private-sector jobs. Because the measures are different, the numbers should not be treated as direct alternatives for the same count. The report presents the official employment figure and the ADP figure as different measures. Maya This is the final US jobs report before the midterm elections on November 3. How could these figures shape the economic debate? Omar The timing gives the report political importance. It is the final US jobs report before the midterm elections, so the figures will be part of the economic debate before voters choose lawmakers. One side can point to weak hiring, rising unemployment, and slower wage growth. Another can point to the fact that unemployment remains relatively steady and that the report describes cooling rather than collapse. The report itself shows the economic numbers. It does not decide how voters will judge them. Maya Before we close, what should listeners watch for when they hear new claims about the US jobs market? Omar They should separate the main measures. The number of jobs added is not the same as the unemployment rate. Wage growth is another measure. Revisions can also change the picture of earlier months. And the ADP private-sector figure measures something different from the monthly employment report. In this case, the clearest summary is that September hiring was weak, unemployment rose slightly to 4.2%, and the wider report points to a cooling labor market rather than a collapse. Maya Omar, thank you. That was a closer look at the latest US jobs report and its place in the economic debate before the midterm elections. I’m Maya. Thanks for listening to Slow English FM.
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