US employment market tightens as companies add 263,000 jobs
US employers added 263,000 jobs in September as the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5 per cent, figures from the Bureau of Labour Statistics show.
Economists polled by Reuters had previously expected US employers would add 250,000 jobs in September.
The figures mark both a slowdown and a tightening of the US jobs market, as the country’s employers added 315,000 jobs in August.
The August figures saw the US unemployment rate sit at 3.8 per cent.
The BLS said there had been notable upticks in the numbers of jobs in the leisure & hospitality and healthcare sectors.
The addition of jobs in September saw the US unemployment rate edge down slightly as the number of jobless people in America fell to 5.8m.
However, the number of long-term unemployed people remained level at rates of around 1.1m in September.
The tighter labour market saw average hourly wages increase by 10 cents, or 0.3 per cent, in September to $32.46 (£29.20) an hour.
Hourly wages have increased by five per cent over the previous year, the BLS statistics show.
The US government bureau said Hurricane Ian had no discernible effect on US hiring in September.