Jeff Coxse by 661,000 in September, unemployment rate 7.9%
The Labor Department reported Friday that Nonfarm payrolls rose by a lower than expected 661,000 in September and the unemployment rate was 7.9%.
This is the final jobs report to be released before the November election.
A group of expert economists surveyed by Dow Jones Inc. were expecting a payrolls gain of 800,000 and the unemployment rate to fall to 8.2% from 8.4% in August. The payrolls miss was due largely to a drop in government hiring as at-home schooling continued and Census jobs fell.