Private businesses in the US hired 89K workers in September 2023, the least since January 2021 when private employers shed jobs, and well below market forecasts of 153K.
It follows a revised 180K increase in August, compared to an initial 177K. The services sector added 81K jobs, namely financial activities (17K) and education and health services (10K).
Construction also added 16K, but losses were seen in professional and business services (-32K), trade, transportation and utilities (-13K) and in manufacturing (-12K). Large establishments drove the slowdown, losing 83K jobs and wiping out gains they made in August.
Meanwhile, annual wage growth slowed to 5.9%, the 12th consecutive monthly decline.