Payrolls Rise Just 29,000 in September and Stocks Close Higher as October Rate-Hike Odds Fade

The Labor Department also revised July into negative territory, and traders trimmed the odds of a Federal Reserve increase this month to roughly 18%.

By Marcus Elrod

Oct 3, 2026 · 2 min read

U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its 8:30 a.m. Eastern release on Friday. Stocks closed higher after the report.

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Marcus Elrod

Marcus tracks positioning, flows and rates. He writes CI's weekly market internals column.

Marcus Elrod writes for Corporate Insider Inc.

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