Modest Job Growth, No Change In Unemployment Rate Expected

The scene earlier this month at a job fair in Sunrise, Fla.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The scene earlier this month at a job fair in Sunrise, Fla.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Two and a half weeks late because of the partial government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' report on job growth and unemployment in September is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

As NPR's Chris Arnold said on Morning Edition, economists expect to hear that the jobless rate was unchanged, at 7.3 percent, and that employers added about 180,000 jobs to their payrolls in September. That would be slightly more than were added in August — if the preliminary estimate for that month isn't changed from the 169,000 BLS reported earlier.

On Morning Edition, Chris also talked about how job growth has been slowed because many employers are nervous about hiring. They're bothered by what's been happening in Washington, where policymakers don't seem able to come to agreement on a consistent economic policy. Some economists say about 900,000 more jobs might have been added to payrolls in recent years "if politicians were doing a better job of charting a course forward," Chris said.

On 'Morning Edition': NPR's Chris Arnold previews the September jobs report

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/10/22/239584152/modest-job-growth-no-change-in-unemployment-rate-expected?ft=1&f=1001
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