The Economy Lost 33,000 Jobs in September

The latest From the BLS Employment Report:

For the first time in seven years, U.S. Employment took a dip in September. Nonfarm payroll decreased by 33,000 last month, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation Report. This payroll drop is the first since September of 2010. Amid the damage caused by the hurricanes Harvey and Irma, displaced worker were left temporarily unemployed. Restaurants alone lost 105,000 positions to layoffs as a result of damage to the establishments. These natural disasters also caused hiring delays as businesses were impacted in Texas and Florida.

After 169,000 jobs were added in August (revised up from 156,000), the September jobs report’s drop in employment is attributed to the hurricanes and a dip in the hospitality industry. Harvey and Irma did not, however, have an impact on the unemployment rate, which fell two-tenths of a percentage point to 4.2 percent, the lowest since February 2001.

Economists’ predictions

Most economists agreed: this jobs report is one to take with a grain of salt. Scott Wren, senior global equities strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, suggested that the market should view the report as “a blip on the radar.” He predicted that the September jobs report might see a negative hit of up to 100,000 jobs. Luckily, the actual figures came in lower than that.

Early economist predictions are suggesting that some industries (like construction) will see an immediate bump and then the overall jobs numbers will continue their upward trend within a few months. Following Hurricane Katrina, the number of U.S. jobs fell 35,000 in September 2005. The storm’s effects, specifically in New Orleans, led to lukewarm job growth of 56,000 people in October. However, the economy picked back up in November, creating 215,000 jobs.

This Month’s Jobs Report

Let’s break down the numbers from the September jobs report:

In September, hourly wages increased by $0.12 to $26.55 per hour, following a 4 cent increase in August. This brings the year-over-year wage percentage increase to 2.9 percent. The unemployment rate saw a slight downtick to 4.2 percent.