By Tom Burnett CFA
On October 7, 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the employment report for September. Total jobs rose by 263,000 for the month. U.S. employment now stands at 153.0 million, up from 147.8 million a year ago. At the Covid-19 low in 2020, total employment fell to 130 million. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in September, down slightly from the prior month. In April. 2020, the rate had climbed to over 14%. So far in 2022, average monthly job growth has increased by 420,000. The number of unemployed job seekers is 5.8 million, down from 5.9 million in the previous month. On October 4, 2022, the Bureau announced that job openings were 10.1 million, well above the number of unemployed workers.
Job totals were revised upwards by a combined 11,000 for July and August.
Manufacturing employment rose by 22,000 in the month and has averaged an increase of 36,000 per month this year.
Average hourly earnings increased $0.10 to $32.46, up 5.0% from one year ago.
The next Report will be issued November 4, 2022.
Tom Burnett CFA is Director of Research