The Labor Department announced Friday that the U.S. added 136,000 new jobs in September as unemployment fell to 3.5 percent, the lowest rate since December 1969.
Although fears of a looming recession due to Trump’s protracted trade war with China spiked this week after a negative manufacturing report from the Institute of Supply Management, growth in key economic metrics signaled the domestic labor market is performing well, but still slower than in previous months.
The past two job reports from July and August were also revised this month to reflect that tens of thousands more jobs were added than initially reported.
Hispanic unemployment fell to 3.9 percent, setting a record low, while black unemployment remained at a record-low 5.5 percent. The unemployment rate for adults without a high school education fell to 4.8 percent, the first time that measure has ever been below 5 percent on data dating back to 1992.
Wage growth over the last year grew by 2.9 percent, a slowdown from previous months but still outpacing inflation. Job gains were concentrated in the services sector, including health care and transportation, while manufacturing fell by 2,000 jobs, mirroring ISM data. A GM strike that began Sept. 15 and includes around 50,000 people was not included in the report.
President Trump celebrated the employment gains 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!).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2019
Chairman of the Fed Jerome Powell, who has called recent job gains “solid,” is scheduled to deliver opening remarks at 2 p.m. in Washington at a Fed event. The Fed cut rates by a quarter point on Sept. 18 in the face of a gradual global slowdown, and after Trump blasted the Federal Reserve on Twitter Sept. 11, calling for lower interest rates.