U.S. job growth falls short of expectations as unemployment rises to 4.2%

The Labor Department reported that the US added 29,000 jobs in September, missing expectations. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1% in the previous month.

Economists expected a gain of 90,000 jobs last month, following a revised print of 133,000 job gains in August.

“Weak across the board when it comes to the demand for labor,” economist Mohamed El-Erian told Yahoo Finance. “The demand side is flashing yellow … [and is] going to put the Fed definitely on hold for October.”

Stock futures surged following the report as traders pared back Fed rate-hike bets for the central bank’s October meeting.

The September jobs report follows a string of indicators on US employment trends this week. Here's a recap of what we learned in recent days about the "low hire, low fire" environment:

• Job openings and hiring were little changed in August, according to the Labor Department's monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The US added 7.1 million new job openings in July, which was down slightly from the previous month.

• Private sector hiring picked up in September, according to payroll processor ADP. Private companies added 90,000 jobs this month, an improvement from a revised 36,000 jobs in August.

• US companies' layoff plans fell in September to the lowest levels for the month since 2022. But firms don't appear to be rushing to add staff ahead of the busy holiday season, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

• Initial jobless claims ticked lower by 1,000 to 197,000 in the week ended Sept. 26. That was below economists' expectations of 200,000 claims.

Follow along for more updates on jobs and hiring in the US.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Finance at https://finance.yahoo.com/economy/live/september-jobs-report-live-updates-labor-market-adds-29000-124648123.html