US economy adds 119,000 jobs in September amid tariff turmoil

American employers added 119,000 jobs in September, the government reported today in the first jobs report since the weeks long federal government shutdown. CEI experts point to tariff uncertainty, rising prices, and low consumer sentiment casting a pall over job gains.

Ryan Young, CEI senior economist:

“The gain of 119,000 jobs during September was better than expected but provides only limited relief in an environment of rising prices and low consumer sentiment.

“Continuing policy uncertainty since September means many companies aren’t sure where or whether to make long-term investments. Layoff announcements have continued to pile up, and manufacturing has contracted for eight straight months due to the Trump tariffs.

“The overall picture is a labor market that is showing cracks but still holding up under pressure from inflation, bad policy, and economic uncertainty.

“The just-released September jobs data won’t be very useful for the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision on December 10. October’s data will not be released at all, though the completed portions of it will be bundled with the November report. That will be released on December 16, six days after the Fed’s next meeting.”

Sean Higgins, CEI research fellow:

“A Summer of Stagnation is being followed by a mild rebound. The Labor Department’s belated report that the economy gained 119,000 jobs in September is offset by the revisions to July and August’s numbers, erasing 33,000 in previous job gains. The revised numbers now show that August had a net loss of 4,000 jobs. 

“Employers didn’t hire over the summer because the continual turmoil created by the administration’s back-and-forth tariff policies made long-term planning difficult. You cannot know how many people you’re going to need if you don’t know what raw materials you can afford to import or how much of your product you can sell abroad. Things are more settled now, so employers are beginning to hire again, but the outlook remains volatile.

“The administration may change course yet again, and the Supreme Court may toss the tariffs out entirely. The likelihood that the justices will nullify the tariffs ironically may be one of the reasons that employers are feeling confident enough to start hiring again.”