Manufacturers and contractors added jobs in September
Manufacturing and construction employment continued to trend up in September.
Manufacturers added 22,000 jobs in the month. Job gains occurred in motor vehicles and parts (+8,000), fabricated metal products (+6,000), and electrical equipment and appliances (+3,000). Printing and related support activities lost 4,000 jobs over the month. Manufacturing has added an average of 36,000 jobs per month thus far in 2022.
In September, employment in construction continued to trend up (+19,000), in line with average monthly job growth in the first 8 months of this year. Specialty trade contractors added 18,000 jobs in September.
The nation's total employment increased by 263,000 in September, well below the 315,000 gain in August, in a sign that the Federal Reserve's moves to raise interest rates may be slowing job growth.
The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent from 3.7 percent last month.