US employers added 29,000 jobs in September, sharply missing forecasts.

The U.S. economy added 29,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department reported Friday. That is less than a third of the 90,000 economists had forecast.

• 29,000 September payrolls followed a revised 133,000 in August.
• 60,000 jobs were removed from combined July and August totals after revisions.
• July payrolls were revised from a gain to a loss of 10,000 jobs.
• 3% average hourly wage growth was the smallest year-over-year gain since May 2021.

Why it matters: The report lands one month before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Only 26% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of the economy, an AP-NORC poll found — a new low.

• 17% of adults approve of Trump's handling of the cost of living, per the same poll.
• Glassdoor's employee confidence index hit its third record low of the year. Chief economist Daniel Zhao said workers are "increasingly anxious about everything from layoffs to AI."

How 45 sources split on this story

Where they split: Outlets agree on the raw numbers but divide on whether the report reflects a broader economic failure or a resilient market hitting a soft patch.

What’s next: The Federal Reserve meets in October. Traders see the weak report as reducing the chance of a rate increase.

• November 3 midterms will determine whether Trump's Republicans keep full control of Congress.
• Whether the September weakness reflects a temporary soft patch or a more sustained slowdown remains unclear from the data.
• How the Federal Reserve will weigh persistent inflation above its 2% target against the softening job market at its October meeting.
• Whether the revoking of work authorizations for 350,000 Haitians, as Capital Economics economist Bradley Saunders suggested, materially slowed healthcare hiring.