Theodor de Bry’s 1590 engraving of Secoton, from John White’s watercolors. Public domain.
On October 2, 2026, the Labor Department said September payrolls rose by 29,000, unemployment was 4.2 percent, and wages were up 3 percent from a year earlier.
If money is tight, a thin hiring month is the month your application sits.
If you are in the middle, keeping the job you have is not the same as finding the next one.
If you have savings, a 3 percent wage figure is the economy's raise, and your portfolio is a different account.
The Labor Department's report on October 2, 2026, said employers added 29,000 jobs in September.
Unemployment was 4.2 percent.
Wages were up 3 percent from a year earlier, which is a small hiring month for a country this size and a modest number on a paycheck.
Source: US Department of Labor, report of October 2, 2026, on September payrolls, unemployment, and wages.