The US added only 29,000 jobs in September. The Labor Department released the report on October 2. It fell far short of forecasts.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected 90,000 jobs. Dow Jones surveys had expected 84,000. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 per cent from 4.1 per cent.

Job gains for July and August were revised down by a combined 60,000. July’s total was pushed into the red. It was revised from a gain of 21,000 to a loss of 10,000.

Healthcare added just 17,000 jobs. It has usually been a steady source of gains. Financial services and government shed workers. Most industries added workers at a slow pace.

Average hourly earnings rose 5 cents to $37.81. That is up 3.0 per cent over the year.

“The good news is you’re not seeing a lot of layoffs,” said Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo. “But it’s really hard if you are new to the labor force. There’s not a lot of turnover.”

Stocks rose modestly after the report. Markets cut expectations for a Federal Reserve rate increase this month.