A
stronger
than
expected
September

jobs
report
is
not
great
news
for
the


Federal
Reserve
or
the
housing
industry,
which
was
hoping
for
a
swift
decline
in

interest
rates.

Data from
the U.S.
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics released
on
Friday shows
that
254,000
non-farm
payroll
jobs
were
added
in
September.
This
is
higher
than
the
average
monthly
gain
of
203,000
jobs
over
the
past
12
months.
Additionally,
jobs
data
for
the
prior
two
months
were
revised
upwards
by
72,000
jobs.

Also
causing
economists
to
pause
was
wage
growth,
which
reaccelerated
to
4.0%
in
September.

“All
of
these
signs
point
toward
a
successful
‘soft
landing,’
but
also
stoke
worries
that
inflation
may
not
move
in
a
straight
line
to
the
Fed’s
2%
target,”
Mike
Fratantoni,
the

MBA’s
senior
vice
president
and
chief
economist,
said
in
a
statement.
“This
report
could
certainly
slow
the
expected
pace
of
rate
cuts.”

Despite
strong
job
growth,
unemployment
remained
steady,
dropping
just
0.1
percentage
point

month
over
month
to
4.1%,
with
6.8
million
people
unemployed.
A
year
ago,
the
jobless
rate
was
3.8%
and
6.3
million
people
were
unemployed.

Most
of
the
job
gains
in
September
occurred
in
food
services
and
drinking
places
(+69,000
jobs),
health
care
(+45,000
jobs),
government
(+31,000
jobs),
social
assistance
(+27,000
jobs),
and

construction
(+25,000
jobs).

Over
the
past
12
months
the
construction
sector
has
averaged
a
gain
of
19,000
jobs
per
month.
Residential
construction
added
2,000
jobs
from
a
month
prior
and
an
additional
5,800
residential
specialty
trade
contractors
entered
the
work
force.
The
sector’s
largest
source
of
monthly
gains,
however,
was
in
nonresidential
specialty
trade
contractors,
which
gained
17,000
jobs
in
September.

Real
estate
also
recorded
a
month-over-month
increase
in
jobs,
gaining
2,100
jobs
in
September.

While
September’s
jobs
report
may
cause
the
Fed
to
reevaluate
just
how
quickly
they
want
to
cut
interest
rates,
economists
believe
the
economy
and
inflation
are
still
cooling
off.

“There
are
mixed
signals
in
the
economy. Job
seekers
are
having
a
harder
time
finding
work,
as
the
hiring
rate
has
ticked
down.
The
number
of
long-term
unemployed—that
is,
people
unemployed
for
six
months
or
more—has
been
on
the
rise,”
Lisa
Sturtevant,

Bright
MLS’
chief
economist,
said
in
a
statement.
“And
consumer
confidence
fell
sharply
in
September,
with
more
people
saying
they
are
worried
about
the
job
market.”

Sturtevant
thinks
this
confidence
will
drive
the
housing
market
forward
in
this
fourth
quarter
of
the
year.

“Mortgage
rates
will
likely
remain
around
6%
for
the
rest
of
the
year,
which
should
bring
both
more
buyers
and
more
sellers
into
the
market,”
Sturtevant
said.
“But
if
there
are
growing
concerns
about
the
economy,
that could
provide
headwinds
to
the
housing
market.” 

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