{
  "id": 11468570,
  "title": "‘Workers growing increasingly anxious’: US adds 29k jobs, far below 90k expected",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/workers-growing-increasingly-anxious-us-adds-29k-jobs-far-below-90k",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-02T14:08:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/workers-growing-increasingly-anxious-us-adds-29000-jobs-far-below-90000-expected/articleshow/134641459.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "US employers added a surprisingly low 29,000 jobs in September, well below the anticipated 90,000, according to government data released on Friday. This slowdown in hiring comes as the US heads into pivotal midterm elections. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%, up from 4.1% in August, partly due to 485,000 people entering the workforce that month. Average hourly wages increased by 3% from a year earlier, marking the smallest year-over-year gain since May 2021. However, healthcare hiring slowed as government job cuts reduced the overall increase to only half the average monthly gain over the past year. Construction and manufacturing added fewer jobs than usual. Planned layoffs by US-based employers fell by 18% in September, while announced job cuts were down 20% from a year ago. The weaker hiring figures may draw greater attention to the Federal Reserve's mandate of maximum employment, especially with inflation remaining above its 2% target for over five years. The overall job market shows a resilience despite various economic challenges, but worker confidence has been steadily declining, with more than 28% of respondents expecting fewer job opportunities in six months.",
  "summary": "US employers added only 29,000 jobs in September, significantly lower than economists' expectations of 90,000. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% as more people entered the workforce without immediate jobs. Healthcare hiring showed a notable slowdown, with government job cuts further contributing to weak hiring figures. While layoffs decreased by 18%, hiring plans fell sharply, reaching their…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}