Employment Falls Short of Projections
Payroll growth during the month of September fell short of expectations, and the jobless rate did not changed due to people leaving the workforce. In additions, wage growth had very little change from the previous month.
This somewhat justifies the Fed’s decision to not increase the interest rate. Other factors such as overseas markets, a stronger dollar, and lower oil prices are creating limits in business and job growth.
The average work week fell from 34.5 hours to 34.6 hours. However, the average hourly earnings were unchanged from the previous month. There has been a 2.2% gain over the past year, but that has been the case since mid-2009.
While the unemployment rate has been steady at 5.1%, the underemployment rate is at 10%. This gap is another reason the Fed has declared that any increase in the interest rates will be gradual. Chairman, Janet Yellen, says that people still seeking full-time employment could be pulled back in to the labor force and decrease the jobless rate even further.
Officials will meet at the end of October to reevaluate.