BLS reports little change in September employment and unemployment
The September Employment Situation release reports a 29,000 payroll increase and a 4.2% unemployment rate, describing both measures as little changed.
What the record says
BLS’s October 2, 2026 release reports that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 29,000 in September and that the unemployment rate was 4.2%; BLS describes both as little changed.
The release says revisions put employment in July and August combined 60,000 lower than previously reported.
Practical next step
Read the release’s tables alongside its summary. Payroll employment and unemployment come from different surveys; one monthly national estimate is not a count of job openings in a particular county.
Limits and what is not established
These are BLS statistical estimates subject to revision, not a prediction of recession, future hiring or an individual’s job prospects. This report does not convert national results into local findings.
Source checked October 6, 2026. This record reflects the information reviewed then; later notices may change arrangements or instructions.
Original source
Read U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’s original information