U.S. economy adds 29,000 jobs as unemployment rate rises to 4.2% - ASBN Small Business Network

September hiring fell short of expectations as wage growth slowed and employers remained cautious amid inflation and economic uncertainty. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added 29,000 jobs in September, well below economists’ forecast of 90,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% as more people entered or re-entered the labor force. BLS also lowered August job growth to 133,000 from 162,000 and revised July to a loss of 10,000 jobs, reversing the earlier estimate of a gain of 21,00 jobs. Together, those revisions removed 60,000 jobs from earlier counts. On average, the economy added 68,000 jobs per month through September, up from 2025 but still below pre-pandemic hiring levels.