Labor Department | featured news

Recent trends hold with the Labor Department reporting a gain of 140,000 private-sector jobs last month but a loss of another 20,000 government jobs. It's a monthly ritual in the race for the White House.

New claims for unemployment insurance dropped to their lowest level in seven months, government data showed on Thursday, raising hopes that hiring may be picking up. The Labor Department said seasonally adjusted initial claims dropped 5,000 to 388,000, versus the previous week's revised 393,000 figure. The 4-week moving average, widely considered a more accurate measure of labor market trends, was 396,750, a drop of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average of 400,750.

The outlook for American jobs and trade looked a little brighter Thursday, despite growing uncertainty overseas. The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to a seasonally adjusted 390,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the fewest since April.

Consumers paid more for food and gas last month, although inflation outside those volatile categories was tame. The Labor Department says the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in September, below a 0.4 percent rise in August. Excluding food and energy, so-called core prices increased 0.1 percent, the smallest rise since March.

Stocks got a lift Friday by news that the US economy generated more jobs than anticipated over the past three months, reinforcing hopes that the world's largest economy will not be sliding back into recession. The Labor Department reported that the U.S. added 103,000 jobs in September. That was above expectations for a 60,000 increase. It also revised up the previous two months' figures to show around 90,000 more jobs were created than previously thought.

New claims for unemployment benefits dropped sharply in the latest week, The Labor Department said Thursday, giving the jobs market one of its first positive signals in some time. 

Jobless rates in 20 states were above the national rate of 9.1 percent in August, with Nevada's level springing up to 13.4 percent, the Labor Department said on Friday.

Companies in July advertised the most jobs in three years, and layoffs declined – a bit of hope for a weak economy. Still, many employers are in no rush to fill openings. The Labor Department said Wednesday that employers increased their postings to 3.23 million from 3.17 million in June. That is the largest number of openings since August 2008. Typically, it takes anywhere from one to three months to fill an opening.

Job creation came to a halt in August, according to new government data that show an economic recovery that appears to be sputtering out. The Labor Department on Friday reported zero net job creation in August, far worse than the 68,000 net jobs analysts had expected to be added. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.1 percent. The July job growth number was revised downward, as well, to only 85,000 jobs added that month — not the 117,000 estimated.

The nation's job market took a turn for the worse last month as employers sharply pulled back their hiring and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.1%, the Labor Department said Friday.