US: Nonfarm payrolls increased by 136K in September vs. 145K expected

• The unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in September from 3.7% in August.
• Annual wage inflation, as measured by average hourly earnings, fell to 2.9%  in September.
• August’s nonfarm payroll reading of 130,000 got revised up to 168,000.  

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported that Nonfarm Payrolls in September increased by 145,000 following August’s reading of 168,000 (revised from 130,000) and came in weaker than the market expectation of 145,000.

With the initial reaction, the US Dollar Index edged higher and was last down 0.03% on the day at 98.87.

Key takeaways from the press release

“The unemployment rate declined to 3.5% in September”

“In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls,  at $28.09, were little changed (-1 cent), after rising by 11 cents in August.”

“Over the  past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 2.9%.”

“The labor force participation rate held at 63.2% in September.”

“The employment-population ratio, at 61.0%, was little changed over the month but was up by  0.6 percentage point over the year.”