September Payrolls Rose 29,000. The Unemployment Rate Is 4.2 Percent.

Nonfarm payroll employment changed little in September, up 29,000, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics published that release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday, October 2, 2026, release number USDL-26-1549. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls were $37.81, up 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, over the month and 3.0 percent over the year. July payrolls were revised from +21,000 to −10,000. August payrolls were revised from +162,000 to +133,000. July and August combined are 60,000 lower than previously reported.

This file is the September employment situation. The August jobs report and the Beige Book are the separate September briefing.

A buyer, a seller, or an owner in Hernando, Citrus, Pasco, Hillsborough, or Pinellas reads this release as the national paycheck tape for September. The house coupon published the day before is the October 1 Freddie Mac survey: 7.28 percent on the 30-year fixed and 6.60 percent on the 15-year fixed. The policy range after the September 16 FOMC hike is 3.75–4.00 percent. Statewide context stays on Florida markets. A purchase or a sale sits on residential. A written quote starts on the mortgage page.

Two surveys in one release

The Employment Situation is two monthly surveys published together. The household survey measures labor-force status, including unemployment, by demographic group. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. Payrolls and the unemployment rate can move on different clocks because they come from different samples of different populations. In September, the bureau describes both as little changed: payrolls +29,000, the unemployment rate 4.2 percent, unemployed people 7.1 million.

The release attaches “changed little” to both headlines and still prints the estimates underneath them. 29,000 is the establishment figure for the change in nonfarm payroll employment. 4.2 percent is the household figure for the unemployment rate. The industry lines, the earnings, the hours, and the revisions sit underneath those two headlines, and they are the part of the release that tells a buyer which kinds of paychecks were still being added.

The reference week for the household survey is the calendar week that includes the 12th of the month. The establishment survey asks employers about the pay period that includes the 12th. September’s 12th was a Saturday. A hire dated the last week of the month, or a layoff dated the first week of October, waits for a later release. The October employment situation is scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

The unemployment rate is 4.2 percent

The unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in September, and the number of unemployed people was 7.1 million. The bureau says both changed little. It also says the unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range of 4.1 percent to 4.3 percent since March. A tenth of a point, from the 4.1 percent printed in the August release to 4.2 percent in this one, sits inside that range. The bureau’s own description of the month is “changed little,” and the range since March is the longer sentence.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for Black workers increased to 7.0 percent. The August release had printed that rate at 6.0 percent. This release is the one that names the increase. The jobless rates for adult men (3.9 percent), adult women (3.6 percent), teenagers (14.5 percent), White workers (3.6 percent), Asian workers (2.9 percent), and Hispanic workers (4.7 percent) showed little change over the month. A household reading the demographic table is reading six rates the bureau calls little changed, and one rate it calls an increase.

The number of long-term unemployed — people jobless for 27 weeks or more — was essentially unchanged at 1.9 million. The long-term unemployed accounted for 27.1 percent of all unemployed people. A spell measured in months is a different household fact from a spell measured in weeks. The release keeps the count at 1.9 million and the share at 27.1 percent. Someone who has been looking since spring is inside that 1.9 million. Someone between jobs for a few weeks is in the broader 7.1 million and outside the long-term count.

The September Summary of Economic Projections, published with the September 16 decision, put the median unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2026 at 4.1 percent. That figure is a quarterly-average projection. The hike briefing prints it next to the June projection. This release prints the September monthly rate at 4.2 percent. A monthly household rate and a fourth-quarter median describe different objects. The Committee’s next meeting is October 27–28, and that meeting does not include a new Summary of Economic Projections.

Participation, part-time hours, and the margin

The labor force participation rate was 61.8 percent in September. The employment-population ratio was 59.2 percent. Both changed little over the month, and both have shown little net change since January. Participation is the share of the civilian noninstitutional population that is working or actively looking. The employment-population ratio is the share that is employed. A stable pair means the tenth of a point on the unemployment rate is sitting inside a labor force the bureau describes as little changed since the start of the year.

People employed part time for economic reasons numbered 4.5 million, and that count changed little. These are people who wanted full-time work and were on short hours because their hours had been reduced or they could not find a full-time job. The August release had reported a decrease of 414,000, to 4.4 million. September’s print is 4.5 million. A buyer who works a short schedule by choice is in a different category. The 4.5 million are the people who wanted more hours.

People not in the labor force who currently want a job numbered 5.8 million, little changed. They are outside the unemployment count because they were not actively looking during the four weeks before the survey, or because they were unavailable to take a job. Wanting work and being counted as unemployed are different statuses in this survey. The 7.1 million are the people who met the search-and-availability test. The 5.8 million wanted a job and did not meet that test in the reference period.

Inside that group, people marginally attached to the labor force decreased by 236,000, to 1.5 million. They wanted work, they were available, and they had looked sometime in the prior 12 months, and they had not looked in the four weeks before the survey. Discouraged workers, the subset who believed that no jobs were available for them, changed little at 414,000. The margin of the labor force got smaller by 236,000 people. The discouraged-worker count inside that margin held near 414,000.

Payrolls rose 29,000

Total nonfarm payroll employment changed little in September (+29,000), following an average monthly gain of 45,000 over the prior 12 months. The release says employment in all major industries changed little over the month. The headline is a small gain, under that trailing average, with the industry story told in the lines the bureau still chooses to name.

The September 4 release had reported August payrolls at +162,000, and it had put the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months at 31,000. This release revises August to +133,000 and prints September at +29,000, against a prior-twelve-month average of 45,000. The September briefing used the September 4 figures. The revision paragraph in this release is the update to those payroll levels.

A 29,000 gain is a national establishment estimate. It is the net of hires, separations, and late reports across every industry on private and government payrolls. It is the count of jobs on payrolls. It is a count of positions. One person with two jobs can appear twice in the establishment survey and once in the household survey. That is one reason the two headlines can look quiet together and still describe different samples.

Health care added jobs, more slowly

Health care employment continued its upward trend in September (+17,000), at a slower pace than the average monthly gain over the prior 12 months (+33,000). Ambulatory health care services continued to trend up (+13,000). Hospitals continued to trend up (+12,000). Nursing and residential care facilities lost jobs (−9,000).

For an owner of a small medical building, or a household living near a clinic, the split inside the industry is the useful line. Ambulatory care and hospitals added. Nursing and residential care subtracted. The net of +17,000 is the industry total the release prints. It is slower than the +33,000 average of the prior 12 months. It is also the industry the bureau still describes as continuing an upward trend in a month when it describes every major industry as little changed. A clinic payroll and a nursing-facility payroll moved in different directions inside that net.

Construction, manufacturing, and financial activities

Construction employment changed little in September (+11,000). Over the prior 12 months the industry had added an average of 10,000 jobs a month. Employment in nonresidential specialty trade contractors continued to trend up (+12,000). Specialty trades are the electricians, the mechanical crews, the glaziers, the people on a wall that is already standing. A +12,000 trend in that line, inside an industry total of +11,000, is the construction detail this release names. Other construction lines are inside the industry total and are left unnamed.

August housing starts remain the separate Census and HUD construction release: a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,275,000, in the starts briefing. That file counts units started. This file counts people on construction payrolls. September starts are a later Census release. A builder’s crew size in September and the August starts rate answer two questions, and a buyer of a house under construction can use both.

Manufacturing employment was little changed in September (+9,000) and is up by 72,000 since a recent low in December 2025. Over the month, employment increased in plastics and rubber products manufacturing (+5,000) and in machinery manufacturing (+5,000). A small September add, on top of a 72,000 climb since December, is the manufacturing sentence in this release. It is a payroll count at plants. A permit for a house and a sale of a house are other series.

Financial activities employment was little changed (−7,000). Employment in financial activities is down by 129,000 since a recent peak in May 2025, and most of that job loss is in insurance carriers and related activities (−90,000). Insurance employment is a live subject for a Florida household because the premium already sits on the escrow line of a house payment. The −90,000 figure is national employment at carriers and related activities since May 2025. It is a jobs count in that industry. The premium on a particular house in Spring Hill, Lecanto, Wesley Chapel, or St. Petersburg is the quote for that house.

The industries reported as little changed

Employment also showed little change over the month in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information; professional and business services; social assistance; leisure and hospitality; other services; and government.

Leisure and hospitality includes the food-services line the August release reported up 59,000. For September, the broader leisure and hospitality group is on the little-changed list. Information, which the August release reported down 23,000, is on that list for September as well. Government, which includes the local-education line the August release reported up 42,000, is little changed in September. Those August industry moves remain in the September 4 briefing. September’s establishment detail is the health-care split, the specialty-trade trend, the manufacturing lines, and the longer decline in financial activities.

Office-using payrolls sit inside professional and business services, information, and financial activities. Professional and business services were little changed. Information was little changed. Financial activities were little changed on the month and down 129,000 since May 2025, with most of that longer decline in insurance. A landlord reading office demand gets a month of little change in those groups, and a multi-month decline concentrated at carriers. The second-quarter SLOOS briefing is the Federal Reserve’s survey of bank lending standards on construction, land development, and income property. It is a credit-standards file. This release is a payroll file.

Hourly earnings and the workweek

Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $37.81. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.0 percent. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 7 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $32.60.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls remained at 34.4 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek was unchanged at 40.6 hours, and overtime held at 3.0 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees remained at 33.8 hours. Hours held. The wage edged up. The September earnings story is a small monthly raise on an unchanged week.

Hours times the wage is a weekly amount before taxes and before deductions. The product of the two all-employee figures the release prints, $37.81 and 34.4 hours, is $1,300.66. The product of the production and nonsupervisory figures, $32.60 and 33.8 hours, is $1,101.88. Those products are arithmetic on the printed hourly rate and the printed workweek. The release reports the hourly figures, the percent changes, and the hours. A household budget starts from the paystub, which can differ from a national average by occupation, shift, overtime, and hours actually worked.

The September 4 release printed August average hourly earnings at $37.75, up 3.1 percent over the year. This release prints September at $37.81, up 5 cents on the month and 3.0 percent over the year. A 3.0 percent rise in hourly earnings, with the workweek steady at 34.4 hours, is the income fact next to a 4.2 percent unemployment rate. It is the earnings side of a house payment. The coupon is the separate weekly survey.

July and August were revised

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised down by 31,000, from +21,000 to −10,000. The change for August was revised down by 29,000, from +162,000 to +133,000. With these revisions, employment in July and August combined is 60,000 lower than previously reported. The release says monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimates, and from the recalculation of seasonal factors.

The September 4 release had revised July from −23,000 to +21,000, and it had revised June up by 11,000, from +20,000 to +31,000. This October 2 release revises July again, to −10,000, and revises August from the +162,000 in that earlier release to +133,000. The revision paragraph in this release covers July and August. The figures to carry forward from this publication are July −10,000, August +133,000, and September +29,000.

Read as a sequence, those three establishment changes are a small decline, then a revised gain of 133,000, then a gain of 29,000. August is still the large month in the trio, smaller than its first print by 29,000. September is the quiet month. July, on the latest estimate, is a payroll decline of 10,000. Anyone who booked the August gain at 162,000 is now using a figure the bureau has marked down.

Reading the national print from a Florida county

The rate in this release is the national unemployment rate, 4.2 percent. The payroll change is the national change, +29,000. Earnings are the national private-sector averages. The BLS October calendar places State Employment and Unemployment for September on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, and Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment for September on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. A Florida rate and a Tampa-area rate are those later files.

What a local reader can use on the morning of this release is the national composition of the payroll change. Health care is still adding jobs, more slowly than its own recent average, and nursing and residential care lost jobs. Nonresidential specialty trades are still trending up. Manufacturing is up 72,000 since December 2025, with a September increase in plastics and rubber products and in machinery. Financial activities are down 129,000 since May 2025, mostly at insurance carriers and related activities. Retail, transportation, professional services, leisure and hospitality, and government were little changed in September. Those are the industry facts a household in Spring Hill, Lecanto, Wesley Chapel, Tampa, or St. Petersburg can set next to a paystub.

Local population, school, and road files already on the site answer their own questions. Marion’s April 1, 2025 population estimate is the Marion population briefing. South Marion High’s opening capacity is the campus briefing. The I-75 auxiliary lanes from SR 200 to SR 326 are the project briefing. Citrus population against the school projection is the Citrus briefing. Those pages carry people, classrooms, and a highway project. This page carries the national labor release for September.

Sales tapes are separate series. August new-home sales are the Census and HUD release. August existing-home sales are the resale comparison. A payroll month and a contract month describe different events. September sales wait for their own publication dates.

The mortgage survey beside the paycheck

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey released October 1, 2026 put the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 7.28 percent, up from 7.03 percent the prior week, and the 15-year fixed at 6.60 percent, up from 6.42 percent. A year earlier, the 30-year averaged 6.34 percent and the 15-year averaged 5.55 percent. Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, on that release: “With mortgage rates on their current trajectory, the housing market continues to be supported by favorable economic conditions.” The survey covers conventional, conforming, fully amortizing home-purchase loans for borrowers who put 20 percent down and have excellent credit. Freddie’s publication calendar dates this print as publication day October 1, week beginning September 24, week ending September 30. The September 24 briefing is the prior week, at 7.03 percent and 6.42 percent. The September 17 briefing is the week of the hike, at 6.95 percent and 6.26 percent.

The market yield on the 10-year Treasury, FRED series DGS10, closed at 5.18 percent on September 24, 5.17 percent on September 25, 5.24 percent on September 28, 5.26 percent on September 29, and 5.29 percent on September 30. Those closes fall inside the application window for the October 1 mortgage survey. The mortgage average and the Treasury close are related markets. A lock is the rate on a written quote for a named borrower and a named house.

Principal and interest on a stated loan use the standard fully amortizing formula. The monthly rate is the annual rate divided by 12. A 30-year term is 360 months. A 15-year term is 180 months. Taxes, insurance, association dues, and any mortgage insurance sit outside these figures. The principals below are stated amounts, so the week’s move from the September 24 survey to the October 1 survey can be read in dollars.

• $250,000 for 30 years: $1,710.53 at 7.28 percent, and $1,668.30 at 7.03 percent, a difference of $42.23 a month.
• $300,000 for 30 years: $2,052.64 at 7.28 percent, and $2,001.96 at 7.03 percent, a difference of $50.68 a month.
• $400,000 for 30 years: $2,736.85 at 7.28 percent, and $2,669.27 at 7.03 percent, a difference of $67.58 a month.
• $300,000 for 15 years: $2,629.84 at 6.60 percent, and $2,600.15 at 6.42 percent, a difference of $29.69 a month.
• $400,000 for 15 years: $3,506.46 at 6.60 percent, and $3,466.86 at 6.42 percent, a difference of $39.60 a month.

A lender’s quote on a specific house, credit file, and down payment can differ from the survey average. The survey is an average of applications that meet Freddie’s criteria. The quote a buyer can hold is the one a lender writes. That quote starts on the mortgage page. An appraisal ordered for the loan starts on the appraisal page.

The federal funds rate and the mortgage rate remain different prices. The Committee’s target range is 3.75–4.00 percent, set September 16 on a 12–0 vote. The 30-year survey average for October 1 is 7.28 percent. A 4.2 percent unemployment rate and a 3.0 percent rise in hourly earnings are the labor facts in front of the October 27–28 meeting. They describe September. The October decision is the statement the Committee publishes when it meets.

The tax roll is its own line

Principal and interest are the loan. Property taxes are the roll. Amendment 3 is on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot. The Division of Elections booklet titles it Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments. The booklet summary puts the non-school homestead exemption at $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and it lowers the annual cap on non-homestead assessment increases from 10 percent to 5 percent, if the measure is approved. A job and an hourly wage describe what a household earns. The amendment describes assessed value and exemptions on non-school levies. Millage stays the rate each local board adopts. Hometown Heroes is down-payment assistance for eligible Florida occupations. It is a purchase program. It is a different file from this payroll count.

What a buyer, a seller, and an owner do with it

A buyer with a paycheck uses the 4.2 percent unemployment rate as the national backdrop for how tight the labor market still is, and the 3.0 percent earnings gain as the national backdrop for pay. The payment to underwrite is the written quote, plus taxes and insurance on that house. A pre-approval written before the survey moved from 6.95 percent through 7.03 percent to 7.28 percent is a credit file attached to an earlier coupon. The Florida home buying guide is the purchase process. Residential buying is where a specific address gets read against that quote.

A seller reads the same pair from the other side of the table. At a 4.2 percent unemployment rate, employed buyers are still the center of the resale market. The principal-and-interest difference between the September 24 survey and the October 1 survey is $50.68 a month on a $300,000 30-year principal, and $67.58 a month on $400,000. A list price set against a July payment is using an older coupon. The current objects are the revised payrolls, the October 1 survey, and the comps on the street. Home selling is the sale process.

An owner who is staying put still has the earnings fact and the revision fact. Hourly earnings are up 3.0 percent over the year. The workweek is unchanged at 34.4 hours. July’s payroll change is now −10,000, and August’s gain is 133,000. A refinance question compares a written quote with the note the owner already holds. The survey average is the public context for that quote.

The through-line

September nonfarm payrolls changed little, +29,000, following an average monthly gain of 45,000 over the prior 12 months. The unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent, with 7.1 million people unemployed, and the rate has stayed between 4.1 percent and 4.3 percent since March. The unemployment rate for Black workers increased to 7.0 percent. Long-term unemployment was 1.9 million, or 27.1 percent of the unemployed. Participation was 61.8 percent. The employment-population ratio was 59.2 percent. People marginally attached to the labor force decreased by 236,000, to 1.5 million. Discouraged workers were little changed at 414,000.

Health care added 17,000 jobs, slower than its 33,000 average monthly gain, with ambulatory care up 13,000, hospitals up 12,000, and nursing and residential care down 9,000. Construction was up 11,000, and nonresidential specialty trades continued to trend up by 12,000. Manufacturing was up 9,000 and is up 72,000 since December 2025, including 5,000 in plastics and rubber products and 5,000 in machinery. Financial activities were down 7,000 on the month and down 129,000 since May 2025, with 90,000 of that longer decline in insurance carriers and related activities. Average hourly earnings were $37.81, up 3.0 percent over the year. The private workweek stayed at 34.4 hours.

July payrolls are now −10,000. August payrolls are now +133,000. Together those two months are 60,000 below the figures previously reported. The 30-year fixed in the October 1 Freddie Mac survey is 7.28 percent, and the 15-year is 6.60 percent. The federal funds target range is 3.75–4.00 percent. The Employment Situation for October is scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Dates already on the calendar

• Freddie Mac PMMS: Thursday, October 8, 2026. The October 1 survey, at 7.28 percent and 6.60 percent, is the weekly average in force until that release.
• Consumer Price Index and real earnings for September: Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 8:30 a.m. Eastern. August shelter is the CPI briefing already published.
• State employment and unemployment for September: Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
• FOMC meeting: October 27–28. That meeting does not include a new Summary of Economic Projections. The September 16 hike to 3.75–4.00 percent is the current policy briefing.
• Metropolitan area employment and unemployment for September: Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
• Employment Situation for October: Friday, November 6, 2026, 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation — September 2026, USDL-26-1549, released Friday, October 2, 2026, 8:30 a.m. Eastern, news release, including the household and establishment summaries (payrolls +29,000; unemployment rate 4.2 percent; unemployed people 7.1 million; the 4.1-to-4.3 percent range since March; Black unemployment 7.0 percent; adult men 3.9 percent; adult women 3.6 percent; teenagers 14.5 percent; White 3.6 percent; Asian 2.9 percent; Hispanic 4.7 percent; long-term unemployed 1.9 million and 27.1 percent; labor force participation 61.8 percent; employment-population ratio 59.2 percent; part time for economic reasons 4.5 million; people not in the labor force who want a job 5.8 million; marginally attached down 236,000 to 1.5 million; discouraged workers 414,000; prior-twelve-month average payroll gain 45,000; health care +17,000 against a +33,000 average; ambulatory health care +13,000; hospitals +12,000; nursing and residential care −9,000; construction +11,000 against a +10,000 average; nonresidential specialty trade contractors +12,000; manufacturing +9,000 and +72,000 since December 2025; plastics and rubber products +5,000; machinery +5,000; financial activities −7,000 and −129,000 since May 2025; insurance carriers and related activities −90,000; average hourly earnings $37.81, +5 cents, +0.1 percent, +3.0 percent over the year; production and nonsupervisory earnings $32.60, +7 cents, +0.2 percent; workweek 34.4 hours; manufacturing workweek 40.6 hours and overtime 3.0 hours; production and nonsupervisory workweek 33.8 hours; July revised from +21,000 to −10,000; August revised from +162,000 to +133,000; combined revision −60,000). BLS, The Employment Situation — August 2026, released September 4, 2026, for the first prints this release revises (August payrolls +162,000; July revised then from −23,000 to +21,000; June from +20,000 to +31,000; unemployment 4.1 percent; average hourly earnings $37.75 and +3.1 percent; food services and drinking places +59,000; local government education +42,000; information −23,000; Black unemployment 6.0 percent; part time for economic reasons 4.4 million). BLS schedule of Employment Situation releases (October reference month on November 6, 2026, 8:30 a.m.) and the October 2026 selected-release list (Consumer Price Index and real earnings on October 14; state employment on October 20; metropolitan-area employment on October 28). Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, averages as of October 1, 2026 (30-year 7.28 percent, up from 7.03 percent; 15-year 6.60 percent, up from 6.42 percent; year-ago 6.34 percent and 5.55 percent; Sam Khater’s comment), and the 2026 archive. Freddie Mac PMMS publication calendar (October 1, 2026 publication; week beginning September 24; week ending September 30; next publication October 8). FRED series MORTGAGE30US and MORTGAGE15US, Freddie Mac via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, observation October 1, 2026. FRED series DGS10, Board of Governors H.15, daily closes September 24 through September 30, 2026. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, FOMC statement, implementation note, and Summary of Economic Projections, September 16, 2026, including the 3.75–4.00 percent target range and the 4.1 percent median unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2026, as briefed in the September hike post; FOMC calendar for October 27–28.

For help reading a Hernando, Citrus, Pasco, Hillsborough, or Pinellas purchase or sale against this paycheck tape and a current written quote, contact Bridge Point Business & Real Estate Advisors at 352-515-0226 or request a consultation.