135,000 Jobs Added in September After Hurricane

According to ADP, which is a payroll processor, 135,000 jobs were added in September. Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey slowed down the hiring process. These hurricanes will likely have an effect on the hiring process for a long time.

According to economists, 135,000 new private sector jobs were added in September 2017. They also predict that 80,000 new jobs will be added in the public and private sector by the end of the month. This labor survey is not completely accurate because the ADP only considered people employed if they were paid during a given week.

As long as a worker is on payroll, they will be included in the ADP tally according to Jim O' Sullivan. Jim is the chief U.S. economist of the High Frequency Economics. Houston was hit by Hurricane Harvey at the end of August. Florida was hit by Hurricane Irma in early September.

ADP tries to accurately report the number of jobs that are added. ADP's estimate has been off by an average of 53,000 within the past 11 months. This is an increase from 42,000 during the previous year. ADP changed the way that it calculated its job report within the past year.

ADP stated that small businesses were the ones that were affected the most by the storms. There were 7,000 jobs lost. Midsize companies were able to 63,000 jobs. Large firms were able to add 79,000 jobs.

Trade transportation and utilities were the industries that were hit the hardest by the hurricanes. These industries lost 18,000 jobs. The information sector lost 11,000 jobs. The trade transportation and utilities industries include retailers. The leisure and hospitality added 20,000 jobs. This is average. Hotels and restaurants are included in the leisure and hospitality industry.

The job market is better for many other industries. Business and professional services added 51,000 jobs. The construction industry added 29,000 jobs. The health care industry added 28,000 jobs. The manufacturing industry added 18,000 jobs.

Mark Zandi is the chief economist of Moody's Analytics. He stated that the job market remains strong despite the recent storms. However, the hurricanes made it difficult to give an accurate report on the economy and labor market. Unusually high gains in October and November will likely offset the low gains in September. Many employees will be able to return to work soon.

Michael Pierce is an economist who works for Capital Economist. He stated that the Fed can rely more on the manufacturing and service sector because these industries are less affected by the weather. The Institute for Supply Management stated that the manufacturing industry is growing at the fastest pace it has grown in the last 13 years.

The average monthly job growth is declining. The average monthly job growth was 187,000 in 2016 and is down to 176,000. The average monthly job growth was 205,000 in 2015. The unemployment rate is currently 4.4 percent. However, it is difficult to get accurate statistics because many employers struggle to find qualified workers.

It is also important to note that in order for a person to be considered unemployed, they must be looking for a job. People who have not looked for a job within the past four weeks are not considered unemployed.

Zandi is optimistic about the future economy and job market. He stated that even though the storms were disruptive, we have weathered them pretty well. Puerto Rico is still struggling after being hit hard by storms. However, the data from Puerto Rico was not included in the job report.

Even though the job market is recovering after the storm, Zandi stated that the labor market will start to slow down as time moves on. However, the job losses that occurred during September are likely temporary. The economy is likely going to get stronger as areas begin to recover from the storms. Recovery will likely be a slow process, but many people are already working to rebuild the areas.

Tom Simons is a money market economist who works at Jeffries. He has compared the economic damage of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey to Hurricane Katrina. He stated that Hurricane Katrina caused the loss of 35,000 non-farm payrolls. Both Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey combined caused the loss of 45,000 non-farm payrolls.