Once again – for the 21st consecutive month – the job market was solid, to say the least – or in most cases, spectacular.
The September Jobs Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was released on schedule at 8:30 this morning. Once again – for the 21st consecutive month – it was solid, to say the least – or in most cases, spectacular. This month the economy came in with 263,000 jobs added, the unemployment rate dropped 0.2% to 3.5%, another 261,000 workers came off the unemployment roles, and 204,000 workers joined the ranks of the employed.
Normally, this would be a bigger story than it is today, but following the previous 20 months of unprecedented – actually, incredible – job market performance, it’s just another piece of very good news. While September’s total is the lowest since December 2020, it would rank as the 17th best of the 120 months in the decade preceding it. That’s why the report is receiving good, but not rave, reviews. How’s that for perspective?
Job market: The economy’s big star
Month after month beginning in January 2021, the job market absorbed every imaginable body blow the pandemic, strident bipartisanship, global supply chain disruption, a spate of domestic violence, war in Ukraine, escalating climate crisis, and the dreaded “I’ word: inflation.
