September payrolls rise by 29,000 as earlier job gains are revised lower

U.S. nonfarm payroll employment posted a monthly increase of 29,000 in September, while the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment in all major industries also changed little over the month. The payroll increase was below the average monthly gain of 45,000 over the prior 12 months.

July's payroll change was revised down by 31,000, from a gain of 21,000 to a loss of 10,000. August was revised down by 29,000, from a gain of 162,000 to 133,000. Together, the revised July and August estimates are 60,000 lower than previously reported.

Hourly earnings edged higher

Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm employees rose by 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $37.81 in September. Over the past 12 months, they increased by 3.0 percent. For private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees, average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $32.60.

Why the numbers can change

The payroll figures come from an establishment survey of about 119,000 businesses and government agencies representing approximately 622,000 worksites. The active sample includes approximately 26 percent of all nonfarm payroll jobs, so the monthly figures are sample-based estimates rather than a count of every job.

BLS says monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies and from recalculated seasonal factors. Once a year, the agency also adjusts the sample estimates to payroll counts from unemployment-insurance administrative records. Over the prior 10 years, the absolute average benchmark revision for total nonfarm employment was 0.2 percent, and the revisions ranged from negative 0.4 percent to positive 0.3 percent. BLS describes the benchmark difference as a rough proxy for total survey error.