Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on the jobs report released this morning. 

Finally, the first #JobsDay since the shutdown! The latest data out today is for September before the shutdown began on October 1.

Highlights:
– payroll employment up 119k for Sept while August change was revised down to below zero
– unemployment rate ticked up 3 months in a row to 4.4%

#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 7:42 AM

Even with the faster than expected growth in payroll employment for September, downward revisions for July and August meant that combined July+Aug job growth was 33k less than originally reported. Over the last three months, job growth averaged 62k with small losses in both June and August.
#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 7:59 AM

Job gains were strongest in leisure and hospitality and health care while there were losses in transportation and warehousing and professional and business services. Manufacturing, mining, and the federal government also registered losses. On net, 119k jobs added in September.
#EconSky #NumbersDay

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 8:11 AM

Federal cuts continue to cost jobs as federal employment fell another 3k in Sept. Federal employment is down 97k since January. The full extent of the federal job losses won’t be seen until we get data for October after upwards of 100k additional federal workers left payrolls after Sept 30.
#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 8:17 AM

The household survey is a useful read on the labor market for various demographic groups. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, its highest since 2021. While a more volatile series, the data show high Black unemployment, holding steady at 7.5% in September, and 1.5 ppts higher than May.
#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 8:28 AM

In addition to Black unemployment, I’ve been keeping my eye on the unemployment rate for young workers. With depressed hires, I’m concerned about the ability for young workers to break into the labor market. Their unemployment rate has been steadily rising for much of the last 2 1/2 years.
#EconSky

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— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) Nov 20, 2025 at 8:36 AM