Finance
NewsOnScale Staff
October 5, 2026
The U.S. economy added just 29,000 jobs in September, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 percent.
The number is well below what economists consider healthy job growth. Most forecasters had projected somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 jobs for the month. The miss is significant heading into November's midterm elections, with voters already feeling the effects of tariff-driven price increases that cost the average household an estimated $2,400 in 2025.
The weak report adds to a picture of an economy under stress. The CBO has previously flagged that the current tariff structure is inflationary and reduces growth. Gas prices remain elevated at a national average of $4.36. Medicare Part B premiums rose nearly 10 percent this year.
President Trump has preemptively blamed Democrats for any recession that might follow the midterms, despite Republicans having controlled both chambers of Congress and the White House for 21 months. The September jobs number lands before that argument has been tested at the polls.
The Federal Reserve will be watching closely. A second consecutive weak jobs report would increase pressure to cut rates, which would signal that the Fed sees recession risk as more pressing than inflation.
The midterms are four weeks away.
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