Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2017-10-06

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The unemployment rate declined to 4.2 percent in September. Nonfarm payroll employment changed little (-33,000), after adding an average of 172,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months. In September, a sharp employment decline in food services and drinking places and below-trend growth in some other industries likely reflected the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. The storms caused large-scale evacuations and severe damage to many homes and businesses. In the establishment survey, employees who are not paid for the pay period that includes the 12th of the month are not counted as employed. Many employees in areas affected by the hurricanes were likely off payrolls during the reference pay period for September.