The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5%, a new 50-year low, according to federal data released Friday.
The monthly employment report from the Labor Department fell short of expectations from economists that 145,000 jobs would be created in September, up from 130,000 in August. Unemployment was expected to hold steady at 3.7%, indicating the labor market remains tight and the economy strong.
The unemployment rate last hit a 50-year low in May and has continued to hover at record lows. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobless rate was last this low in December 1969. The unemployment rate for Hispanics and high school dropouts also hit record lows.
Average hourly wages changed little in September after increasing 11 cents in August. Earnings are up 2.9% for the year.
President Trump cheered the record-low unemployment rate on Twitter.
“Breaking News: Unemployment Rate, at 3.5%, drops to a 50 YEAR LOW. Wow America, lets impeach your President (even though he did nothing wrong!),” he tweeted, referencing the new impeachment inquiry launched by House Democrats. Democrats are investigating a July phone call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which the president asked Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, who is leading the field of Democrats running for president.
Breaking News: Unemployment Rate, at 3.5%, drops to a 50 YEAR LOW. Wow America, lets impeach your President (even though he did nothing wrong!).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2019
But the ongoing trade war with China and the global economic slowdown has bolstered concerns from analysts that the United States may be trending toward an economic slowdown. U.S. manufacturing activity also fell to a 10-year low in September, according to a report Tuesday from the Institute for Supply Management.
The Trump administration and Beijing have exchanged tariffs on exports for more than a year as the two sides work toward a trade deal. But Trump has suggested he is in no hurry to reach an agreement and said last month he doesn’t think a trade deal is needed before the 2020 presidential election.
The trade war is expected to hit Americans in their pocketbooks for the first time, as 15% duties on a host of consumer goods imported from China took effect Sept. 1. A second batch of tariffs are set to take effect mid-December.
The Trump administration also announced this week it would slap levies on $7.5 billion worth of goods shipped from the European Union to the U.S., including Scotch and Irish whiskeys, French wine, and Parmesan cheese.
Trump has touted the low unemployment rate and continued economic expansion as a major achievement of his administration, but any economic slowdown could damage the president’s chances of reelection.
The president has used the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Jerome Powell, as a frequent punching bag amid fears of a possible recession and blamed the central bank for holding back economic growth.
But the Fed last month made its second consecutive rate cut.
