U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent in August, according to Labor Department data released Friday. The result fell short of economists’ expectations in the final jobs report before the midterm elections.
Al Jazeera reported that Dow Jones had forecast 84,000 new jobs and that economists surveyed by Reuters expected 90,000. Healthcare added 17,000 jobs and construction added 11,000, Al Jazeera said. PBS NewsHour reported that job gains for July and August were revised down by a combined 60,000. The hiring data could affect discussions of consumer prices and interest rates, PBS said.