Job growth increased in September, with 336,000 jobs added — 263,000 in the private sector and 73,000 in the public sector. The unemployment rate remained at 3.8%, the highest rate since February 2022, but remains historically low. The labor force participation rate remained at 62.8%, close to the pre-pandemic level (63.3%). Unemployed workers per job opening remained the same (1.5), and job openings spiked to 9.6 million.
The core business areas Aston Carter supports were impacted in September, with finance and insurance jobs decreasing by 3,100 and professional and business services jobs spiking by 21,000.