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The US labor market saw a sharp decline in September, with employers adding just 29,000 jobs in the latest update before the midterm elections.
The payroll numbers were little changed in major sectors from tech to retail, as hiring fell significantly from August, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose slightly from 4.1% in August to 4.2% in September.
The numbers signal a cooling US economy, which experts said reduced the likelihood of a series of further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
The 29,000 jobs created in September are down from a figure of 133,000 in August, according to revised BLS figures for the month.
The BLS report stands in sharp contrast to President Donald Trump’s insistence that America’s economy is booming and it is the “hottest” nation in the world.
The split is likely to present significant challenges as the president and his fellow Republicans hit the campaign trail with just a month to go before the midterm congressional elections.
According to an AP/NORC poll released Thursday, just 17% of Americans approve of the president’s handling of cost-of-living issues, while 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall.
Both are new lows for Trump, surpassing the lowest mark for Democrat Joe Biden during his presidency.
There were some indications that the president understands that his views of the American economy are not with those of most Americans.
“I’ve done a very poor job of explaining how well the country is doing,” he said at a White House event earlier this week.
