US employers added just 29,000 jobs in September, far below the 90,000 economists expected. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent, the Labor Department reported on October 2.

It was one of the weakest payroll reports of the cycle. Revisions made the picture worse: July’s figure was cut to a loss of 10,000 jobs, and August was lowered to 133,000. Together the revisions removed 60,000 jobs from earlier reports.

Average hourly earnings grew only 3 per cent over the year, the slowest pace in about five years. Hiring fell in government, information and financial services. Healthcare added 17,000 jobs, the largest share of the month’s gains.

The report is the last monthly jobs data before the November 3 midterm elections. Markets reacted quickly. The 10-year Treasury yield fell, and traders cut bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike at the October meeting.

Economists noted a “low-hire, low-fire” pattern across 2026. Layoffs have stayed low, but companies are not adding staff. The ADP private payroll report earlier in the week had shown private employers adding 90,000 jobs, a much stronger reading than the official figures.