Washington, D.C. – Only 142,000 jobs were added to payrolls in September, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Statistics. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.1 percent. The job gains occurred in health care and information, while mining employment fell.
In September, the number of unemployed persons (7.9 million) changed little. Over the year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were down by 0.8 percentage point and 1.3 million, respectively.
Thus far in 2015, job growth has averaged 198,000 per month, compared with an average monthly gain of 260,000 in 2014.
Health care added 34,000 jobs in September, in line with the average increase of 38,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months. Hospitals accounted for 16,000 of the jobs gained in September, and employment in ambulatory health care services continued to trend up (+13,000).
Employment in information increased by 12,000 in September and has increased by 44,000 over the year.
Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up in September (+31,000).
Employment in mining continued to decline in September (-10,000), with losses concentrated in support activities for mining (-7,000). Mining employment has declined by 102,000 since reaching a peak in December 2014.
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