Total employment rises by 263,000
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US gained 27,200 temporary jobs in September from August for total temp jobs of nearly 3.2 million.
Total nonfarm employment rose in September with the US gaining 263,000 jobs, bringing the number of jobs to more than 153.0 million. Still, September’s gain was the smallest increase in total jobs since April 2021.
The temp penetration rate — temp jobs as a percentage of total employment — rose to 2.09% in September from 2.07% in August.
Also reported: The US unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in September, the same level it had been in July before popping up to 3.7% in August. The college-level unemployment rate also declined — edging downward to 1.8% in September from 1.9% the previous month.
Notable job gains happened in leisure and hospitality, which added 83,000 jobs, and healthcare, which added 60,000. Employment in healthcare has returned to its February 2020 pre-pandemic level; however, leisure and hospitality remains below its pre-Covid level.
The labor force participation rate was little changed at 62.3% in September.
The BLS also reported the percentage of employed persons who teleworked because of the COVID-19 fell to 5.2% in September from 6.5% in August. That compares to May 2020 — the first month this data was collected — when 35.4% of employed persons teleworked because of the pandemic.
Hurricane Ian did not have a discernible effect on employment data for September.
Ken Brotherston, CEO at TALiNT Partners commented: “This is fascinating set of numbers; they continue to show the underlying strength in the job market although the rise in temp penetration suggests a certain nervousness from employers. Likewise, reduction in teleworking continues to show the re-balancing from the pandemic. With continuing economic uncertainty, the trends on jobs data over the next few months are impossible to call.”
