U.S. gains jobs in Sept.; unemployment rate falls again

WASHINGTON (Oct. 3, 2014) — Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 248,000 jobs in September, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The September unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent, down from 6.1 percent in August, the BLS said in its report dated Oct. 3. The September rate was the lowest in six years, with the employment numbers reversing a weak August report that some jobs experts tabbed as a blip among mostly strong data for this year.

Professional and business services saw the largest employment increase over the month, with 81,000 new jobs, the BLS said. Retail trade rose by 35,000 jobs, largely reflecting the end of a labor dispute at a major grocery chain in New England, it said.

Manufacturing, wholesale trade and transportation and warehousing were largely flat during the month, according to the BLS.

Two commentators — Alan Tonelson, founder of the Blog RealityChek, and Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing — claim manufacturing employment in the U.S. is actually regressing.

“Manufacturing job creation sank into stagnation territory in September, with a modest 4,000 improvement more than offset by downward revisions in July and in August to a net loss,” Mr. Tonelson said.

The AAMeter, the AAM's website that tracks President Barack Obama's promise to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs in the U.S. in his second term, shows that only 189,000 new manufacturing jobs have been created since Mr. Obama's re-election, according to Mr. Paul.

“A large and persistent trade deficit and a paucity of investment in infrastructure are two obstacles that stand in the way of actual progress,” he said.

Automatic Data Processing L.L.C. (ADP), the human resources management and payroll services firm, released its own monthly report Oct. 1 saying that the U.S. added 213,000 jobs in September.

New U.S. jobs included 88,000 in the small business sector (1-49 employees), 48,000 in the medium business sector (50-499 employees) and 77,000 in the large business sector (500 employees or more), ADP said.

Contradicting the flat BLS figures, ADP said the U.S. created 35,000 new manufacturing jobs in September. ADP uses its own payroll statistics for its monthly employment figures, unlike the BLS, which uses a variety of sources across the U.S.