Economists React to the September Jobs Report: ‘Stubbornly Average’

The latest data tells many economists that the U.S. labor market is moving sideways. U.S. employers hired in September at nearly the same modest pace as the prior month. The economy added 156,000 jobs last month, compared with a revised 167,000 in August. The jobless rate rose a tick to 5%, but wages also improved. Here’s how economists and analysts reacted to Friday’s report.

“A blah September jobs report gives no impetus for anything on the economy’s to-do list: There’s no sign of an overheating economy that would justify a rate hike; no ground swell of construction hiring that would finally hint at a return to a normal pace of housing starts; no big wage gains that would give hope for renewed productivity gains. Just a stubbornly average report at a time when the economy is looking for a jolt of the spectacular.” —Nela Richardson, Redfin