The Jobs Headline Was Weak. Look Closer, and There Is Good News for American Workers
Payrolls rose just 29,000 in September, but 406,000 more Americans reported working and underemployment hit its lowest level since January 2025. In our view, it is a turn in the right direction, with one big problem: paychecks are still trailing prices.
By Clara Hughes
ALTAS WORLD NEWS OPINION | By Clara Hughes, Senior Features Writer | October 5, 2026 | 6-min read The headline number on Friday was a letdown: 29,000 new jobs. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected about 84,000 [4]. But read past the headline, as you should with any government report, and a different picture appears. More Americans told government surveyors they were working. Fewer said they wanted a job but had stopped looking. In our view, the September jobs report shows a turn in the right direction, and it also shows how much further we have to go. Key Takeaways Employers added 29,000 jobs and unemployment rose to 4.2%. But the separate household survey showed 406,000 more Americans working and 485,000 more in the labor force [1][2]. The broadest measure of underemployment, U-6, edged down to 7.6%, which CNBC reports is its lowest since January 2025 [3][4]. Wages rose 3.0% over the year, slower than August's 3.4% inflation rate. That is the inconvenient number, and it is a real one [1][5]. The jobs report is two surveys in one. One counts payroll jobs at businesses. The other asks households whether people are working or looking for work. In September they told different stories, and to understand where the economy is heading you need both. What the Numbers Say The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that payrolls rose by 29,000 in September and that the unemployment rate was 4.2%. The jobless rate has stayed between 4.1% and 4.3% since March [1]. Revisions were negative. July was revised from +21,000 to −10,000, and August from +162,000 to +133,000. Together, those two months came in 60,000 lower than first reported [1]. The household survey was stronger. The number of employed Americans rose by 406,000 to 163.2 million, and the labor force grew by 485,000 [2]. Labor force participation rose to 61.8%, which CNBC calls the highest since May [2][4]. Other signs pointed the same way. The number of "marginally attached" workers, people who want a job…