US employers added 29,000 non-farm jobs in September, down from a gain of 133,000 in August, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures supplied through the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1% in August, the bureau said. The increase amounted to 0.1 percentage point, alongside the smaller monthly gain in payrolls.
September's payroll increase was 104,000 jobs smaller than August's. Employers added about one job in September for every five added in August, with the monthly gain falling about 78%.
Total non-farm payrolls reached 159.04 million jobs in September. That figure measures the number of jobs on payrolls, while the monthly increase measures the change from the previous month's level.
Average hourly earnings for all employees rose 3% over 12 months to $37.81 an hour. The annual percentage change compares hourly pay with its level a year earlier, rather than with August.
The labor force participation rate stood at 61.8% in September. Participation measures the share of people aged 16 and older who work or seek work.
That measure covers both employed people and those looking for jobs. The unemployment rate instead measures the unemployed as a share of the labor force, so the two rates use different bases.
Initial applications for unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 194,000 in the week ended Oct. 24, down from 195,000 the previous week, the Department of Labor said.
Claims fell by 1,000, or about 0.5%, from the previous week. The four-week average stood at 196,750, putting the latest weekly count 2,750 below that average.
The claims figures are weekly and more recent than the September employment figures. The latest count covers the week ended Oct. 24, while payrolls, unemployment and participation refer to September.
The four-week average combines several weekly readings, reducing the effect of changes in any single week. The latest weekly count was about 1.4% below that average.
The monthly and weekly figures measure different parts of employment. Payroll growth records changes in jobs, while initial claims count new applications for unemployment benefits during a particular week.
September's figures therefore showed both an increase in payroll jobs and an increase in the unemployment rate. October's latest weekly claims count was lower than the previous week's.
