Soar into September: Surprising 336,000 Job Surge Defies Slowdown Expectations

It was recently reported that U.S payrolls had soared by 336,000 in September, defying the expectations of experts who had been predicting a slowdown in job creation. This was a surprise development, with the job growth far exceeding estimates of 95,000, which had been the initial forecast offered by economists. The biggest contributor to the Hamilton’s surprise job surge in the month of September was the leisure and hospitality sector, which saw the biggest monthly increase since June. This sector alone had accounted for over half of the total gains, adding 195,000 jobs in the single month. Other sectors of the economy which saw job creation in significant numbers included retail, professional and business services, education and health services, and the manufacturing industry. These sectors had all added a healthy 68,000, 48,000, 59,000 and 21,000 jobs respectively. Interestingly, the unemployment rate had declined too, dropping to 7.9% in September from 8.4 twomonts prior. This came as a pleasant surprise to most economists who had been expecting the unemployment rate for the month to remain unchanged. The news of this strong job growth in the economy has been a positive one for the country, with economists across the board agreeing that it was strong signal of the economic recovery that has slowly been taking place since the coronavirus pandemic first began. Whilst the job creation figures look promising in the immediate, economists caution against expecting this job growth to remain consistent in the coming months. This is especially true if the virus continues to spread as rapidly beyond U.S. shores and domestic lockdown measures are put back in place. The future of the U.S. job market remains uncertain, however it is still encouraging to hear that such positive job growth has been realised despite the current conditions.