September marked the 72nd consecutive month that total nonfarm payrolls rose—this time, adding a modest 156,000 jobs. Unemployment edged up slightly from 4.9 percent in August to 5 percent in September. However, the unemployment rate reflects that the overall labor force grew quickly as Americans jumped right back into job searching. While the job market grew, so did workers’ wages. Private-sector workers made gains of 0.2 percent, while the average paycheck has grown 2.6 percent over the past year. To read more, click here.
