Job growth slowed in September

updated 12:23 p.m. ET Oct. 6, 2006

WASHINGTON - Employers added just 51,000 jobs in September, the fewest in almost a year, while the unemployment rate dropped down to 4.6 percent — offering a mixed picture of the nation’s jobs climate.

Still, the new figures released by the Labor Department on Friday suggested that although the economy has moved into a slower phase of growth, it is not in danger of sliding into a recession, analysts said.

The new tally of payroll jobs added to the economy fell short of the 120,000 positions analysts were expecting. However, job gains for both July and August turned out to be bigger than previously estimated, helping to take some of the sting out of September’s tepid payroll figure.

“The report is consistent with a job market this is slowing down but is still decent,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

“It does reflect that businesses have been more cautious about new hires. But jobs are still growing and wages are still growing and that is good,” Hoffman said. “There is no sign in this report that the economy is on the edge of a cliff.”

The 51,000 jobs added in September were the fewest since last October, when the economy was still reeling from the blows of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The nation’s unemployment rate dropped a notch from 4.7 percent in August to 4.6 percent, matching the rate seen in June. That dip also helped to offset any disappointment over the September payroll gain, analysts said.

Friday’s snapshot is the next to the last one that Americans will get of the labor market before Election Day.

The last one will come on Nov. 3 — just days before the November elections.

Voters’ choices at the polls on Nov. 7 are likely to be shaped in part by how they are faring economically. The administration says Americans are mostly better off, while Democratic rivals disagree.

President Bush’s approval rating on the economy is at 40 percent among all adults surveyed in an AP-Ipsos poll. That remains near his lowest ratings. The poll showed that people surveyed trusted Democrats to do a better job of handling the economy than Republicans.

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, in an interview, said the overall employment report suggested “a good level of job creation” and that there “appears to be good rhythm to the economy.” But Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., countered that “slower economic growth is taking its toll on job creation.”

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