Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release - 2022 Q03 Results — 2022-10-07

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in September, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent. Notable job growth occurred in leisure and hospitality and in health care. Monthly job growth has averaged 420,000 thus far in 2022, compared with 562,000 per month in 2021. Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 83,000 in September, in line with its average monthly gain for the first 8 months of this year. Food services and drinking places added 60,000 jobs in September. Employment in leisure and hospitality is below its pre-pandemic February 2020 level by 1.1 million, or 6.7 percent. Health care added 60,000 jobs in September, with growth in ambulatory health care services (+28,000) and hospitals (+28,000). Health care has returned to its February 2020 employment level. Employment in professional and business services continued its upward trend in September (+46,000).