The US jobs market added 119,000 jobs in September, according to the latest monthly jobs report, which was delayed by six weeks due to the shutdown of the federal government.
Amid heightened uncertainty surrounding the strength of the US economy, the much-anticipated reading was higher than the 51,000 jobs expected by analysts to be added in September.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, ticked up from 4.3% to 4.4%: its highest level since 2021.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics revised down previous readings for July and August, which had already raised fears that growth in the labor market had stalled in recent months.
The agency now estimates that US economy added 72,000 jobs in July, down from 79,000, and shed 4,000 jobs in August, down from growth of 22,000.
September’s jobs report was initially scheduled to be released in October, only to be delayed by the shutdown. ADP’s unofficial private sector jobs report for September noted a loss of 29,000 jobs; its report for October pointed to an increase of 42,000 jobs.
The complete official jobs report for October will not be released, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday, as a result of the prolonged shutdown, during which data collection and processing was not conducted. Official data on the number of jobs created or lost in October will be released alongside the full report for November, in mid-December, according to the BLS.
The latest jobs report follows a slowdown of 22,000 jobs added to the US economy in August 2025, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.3%, the highest since 2021.
The report was followed by a revision of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data that announced 911,000 fewer jobs were added to the labor force in the year to March 2025.
Sagging job numbers incited Donald Trump to fire BLS commissioner Erika McEntarfer in August, following a weak July jobs report, as Trump made baseless claims the numbers were “rigged” to make him and Republicans look bad.
After the latest release on Thursday, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, said: “After sitting on it for weeks, Donald Trump finally released the September jobs report showing the unemployment rate is up. Businesses have announced a record number of layoffs, and hiring has slowed since Trump took office. It’s not surprising that he’s now refusing to release the October jobs report, despite the Administration’s legal obligation to publish employment data each month.
“Trump says he wants lower interest rates, but is withholding the very data the Federal Reserve needs to make that decision next month. And it’ll be working families who will pay the price.”