Unemployment Now At 5-Year Low

Job growth could have been better, but at least it’s growth and not loss. And the government shutdown may have given some employers pause before hiring again.

The nation’s unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 7.2% in September, the government reported Tuesday, but employers continued to show reluctance in hiring as they added a moderate 148,000 jobs over the month.

The Labor Department report, delayed 2 1/2 weeks because of the partial federal government shutdown, reflected an economy growing at a lackluster rate. The latest job gains matched the pace since the start of summer but came in below Wall Street’s forecast for an increase of about 175,000 jobs…

The 16-day partial shutdown of government offices and facilities, which began Oct. 1, had no direct bearing on the September employment data, but surveys and anecdotal reports indicate that the uncertainty over the budget stalemate weighed on employers and possibly their hiring decisions last month.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.