US jobs growth misses forecasts in September, yet unemployment slumps
US non-farm payrolls figures for September surprised on the downside, but wage growth accelerated very quickly, although economists put the latter down to the impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
The number of jobs in the US fell by 33,000 last month, versus an already low forecast from economists for a gain 88,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Furthermore, estimates for the previous two months were revised lower by a combined 40,000.
Service sector hiring was weakest, with companies shedding 49,000 staff last month versus a 98,000 person gain in August. On the goods producing side of the economy, payroll growth slumped from the 66,000 positions added in August to just 9,000 for September.
However, a sharp 111,000 reduction in the number of leisure and hospitality jobs had the unexpected result of driving a 0.5% leap in average hourly earnings, versus the 0.3% rise the consensus had expected to see.
On a more positive note, America's rate of unemployment rate, which is derived from the separate so-called 'Household survey', fell sharply, retreating from 4.4% to 4.2%.
That was despite a two tenths of a percentage point increase in the participation rate to 63.1%, as the number of people employed surged by 906,000.
On the back of Friday's jobs report, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was higher by four basis points to 2.38% as of 1416 BST.
Commenting on the data, Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics said: "Overall, the Fed and the markets will just ignore this report.
"If past-storms, particularly Katrina, are any guide, employment will rebound markedly over the next few months. The drop in the unemployment rate might persist, however, with consumer and small business surveys both pointing to a drop in the unemployment rate to nearer 4% for some time."