WASHINGTON – U.S. employers shed 263,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in September, well above economists' estimates, as the unemployment rate increased to 9.8%, the Labor Department reported today.
The unemployment rate is at the highest level since it was 10.1% in June 1983. Since the recession began in December 2007, payroll employment has fallen by 7.2 million, and the unemployment rate has doubled.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected payrolls to fall by 180,000 and for the unemployment rate to climb to 9.8%, according to the median estimate.
The drop in nonfarm payrolls for August was revised lower to 201,000 (from a 216,000 drop) and July’s 276,000 decline was revised higher to a 304,000 slide.
Manufacturing employers cut 51,000 workers in September. Health and education employment, which has consistently been the sector of employment growth through the recession, added 3,000 workers. Government payrolls shrank by 53,000.
The average hourly earnings increased 0.1% in September and 2.5% from a year ago. The average work week was 33.0 hours and down from 33.6 a year ago. Economists estimated workers' average hourly earnings would increase 0.2% in September and for the average work week to remain the same as in August at 33.1 hours.
