US payrolls added just 29000 jobs in September missing forecasts

The United States labor market slowed sharply in September 2026, with nonfarm payroll employment adding 29,000 jobs, according to Realtor.com Research, NAHB Eye on Housing, and Bloomberg. Realtor.com Research noted that this figure fell short of an 84,000 consensus estimate. Downward revisions also erased 60,000 jobs from July and August figures, according to Realtor.com Research, while NAHB Eye on Housing and finimize.com confirmed that prior months were revised downward. [1][5][7][11]

The national unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in September 2026, Realtor.com Research, NAHB Eye on Housing, and Bloomberg all reported. Realtor.com Research detailed that the unrounded unemployment rate rose from 4.14 percent to 4.18 percent, as both total employment and the labor force continued to grow, NAHB Eye on Housing added. [1][5][11]

Redfin News reported that the soft employment data may give the Federal Reserve reason to pause interest rate hikes and slow the upward movement of mortgage rates. Chen Zhao, head of economics research at Redfin, stated that while job data is no longer the key driver of whether the Federal Reserve continues to hike rates, the weak report gives officials a reason to wait. [3]