U.S. Adds Just 29,000 Jobs as Unemployment Rises to 4.2%

U.S. employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department reported Friday — a fraction of the 90,000 economists had expected and down sharply from a revised 133,000 in August. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%.

The report landed one month before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, which will determine whether President Donald Trump's Republicans keep full control of Congress. It arrives amid widespread voter discontent over the cost of living and the state of the economy.

The headline number was not the only weak spot. Labor Department revisions shaved 60,000 jobs off combined July and August payrolls. Average hourly wages rose just 3% from a year earlier — the smallest year-over-year gain since May 2021.

Markets rallied on the weakness. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite added to their gains after the data was released. Treasury yields moved lower, with the 10-year yield at 5.17%, down from 5.24% a day earlier.

The September figures cap a year in which the job market has absorbed a series of shocks: trade wars, persistent inflation, high interest rates and a conflict with Iran that has pushed energy prices higher. The U.S. labor market has recovered from a dismal 2025 by most measures. Ordinary Americans remain unhappy anyway.

A Thursday poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that only 17% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of the cost of living. Just 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall — a new low for the president.

Confidence data point the same direction. U.S. consumer confidence dropped this month to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to the Conference Board's index. More than 28% of respondents told the business think tank they expect fewer jobs to be available in six months, double the 14% who expect more.

Glassdoor's employee confidence index, which tracks how workers view prospects at their own companies, fell last month to its lowest level in records going back to the start of 2016 — a period that includes a global pandemic. It was the index's third record low this year.

"Employee confidence has been continuously grinding downward over the last year as workers grow increasingly anxious about everything from layoffs to AI," said Glassdoor chief economist Daniel Zhao.

The gloom partly reflects an odd feature of the current labor market. Employers are not laying off many workers, but they are not hiring many either. A Labor Department measure of gross hiring — before subtracting those who quit or lose their jobs — has been stuck in a rut for more than two years.

Economists describe it as a "low-hire, low-fire" market. Those with jobs are mostly secure. Jobseekers struggle. In August, the average unemployed person had been out of work for more than six months — the longest average stretch of joblessness since February 2022.

"People know that being laid off is unusually costly right now," Zhao said. "They hear from their friends how long they've been out of work and had such a difficult time finding a job. That does make layoffs even more scary than usual."

That chill has frozen voluntary turnover. Fewer workers are willing to quit. "They often feel stuck," Zhao said. "Workers aren't finding there's opportunity on the open market to find a better job — one that pays more or offers better work-life balance."

With wage growth at a four-year low, long-term unemployment at a post-2022 high, and voter approval of the administration's economic management at record lows, Friday's report gives both parties a clear data point to argue over in the final month of the campaign.