The unemployment rate declined to 4.2 percent in September, and total nonfarm payroll employment changed little (-33,000), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. A sharp employment decline in food services and drinking places and below-trend growth in some other industries likely reflected the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 4.2 percent in September, and the number of unemployed persons declined by 331,000 to 6.8 million. Both measures were down over the year. (See table A-1.) Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult ... (full story)

The number of workers on U.S. payrolls declined last month for the first time since 2010, reflecting major disruptions from hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Labor Department figures showed Friday. The jobless rate fell to a new 16-year-low while wage gains accelerated. The hurricanes had a “net effect” of reducing nonfarm payrolls in September, while there was “no discernible effect” on the national unemployment rate the Labor Department said in a special note Friday. Data-collection rates “generally were within normal ranges” for both surveys that produce the figures. Restaurants and bars -- an industry where most ... (full story)