- Total non-farm payroll employment increased 661 thousand in September, following an increase of 1,489 thousand in the previous month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Private-sector payrolls increased by 877 thousand in September, while government employment decreased by 216 thousand. In September, notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, in retail trade, in health care and social assistance, and in professional and business services. Employment in government declined over the month, mainly in state and local government education. The unemployment rate decreased to 7.9% in September, from 8.4% in August. The unemployment rate was 3.5% in September 2019.
- The number of unemployed decreased by 970 thousand to 12.580 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 781 thousand to 2.405 million and accounted for 19.1% of the unemployed. Among the unemployed, the number of persons on temporary layoff decreased by 1.5 million in September to 4.6 million. This measure is down considerably from the high of 18.1 million in April but is 3.8 million higher than in February.
- The labor force participation rate decreased to 61.4% in September, from 61.7% in August, while the employment-population ratio increased from 56.5% to 56.6%.
- The average workweek of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 0.1 to 34.7 hours.
- In September, average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 2 cents to $29.47. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings were up 4.7%.
- The advance figure for initial claims for unemployment insurance decreased 36 thousand to 837 thousand in the week ending September 26. The 4-week moving average was 867.25 thousand, a decrease of 11.75 thousand from the previous week’s revised average. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment (ongoing) during the week ending September 19 was 11,767 thousand, a decrease of 980 thousand from the previous week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 12,701.25 thousand, a decrease of 381.25 thousand from the previous week’s revised average. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 8.1% for the week ending September 19, a decrease of 0.6 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate. It was stated that: “In response to recommendations resulting from an internal review of state operations, the state of California has announced a two week pause in its processing of initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits. The state will use this time to reduce its claims processing backlog and implement fraud prevention technology. Recognizing that the pause will likely result in significant week to week swings in initial claims for California and the nation unrelated to any changes in economic conditions, California’s initial claims published in the UI Claims News Release will reflect the level reported during the last week prior to the pause. Upon completion of the pause and the post-pause processing, the state will submit revised reports to reflect claims in the week during which they were filed.”
- Unemployment rates were higher in August than a year earlier in 387 of the 389 metropolitan areas, and lower in 2 areas, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nonfarm payroll employment decreased over the year in 254 metropolitan areas and was essentially unchanged in 135 areas.
- Real GDP decreased at an annual rate of 31.4% in the second quarter of 2020, according to the “third” estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 5.0%. In the second estimate, released a month ago, the decrease in real GDP was 31.7% for the second quarter.
- Real final sales of domestic product (GDP less change in private inventories) decreased 28.1% in the second quarter, following a decrease of 3.6% in the first quarter.
- Real gross domestic income (GDI) decreased 33.5% in the second quarter of 2020, following a decrease of 2.5% in the first quarter.
- The average of real GDP and real GDI, a supplemental measure of U.S. economic activity that equally weights GDP and GDI, decreased 32.5% in the second quarter, compared with a decrease of 3.7% in the previous quarter.
- The price index for gross domestic purchases decreased 1.4% in the second quarter of 2020, compared with an increase of 1.4% in the previous quarter.
- The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index decreased 1.6% in the second quarter, compared with an increase of 1.3% in the previous quarter. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index decreased 0.8% in the second quarter, compared with an increase of 1.6% in the previous quarter.
- Corporate profits from current production decreased $208.9 billion in the second quarter, in contrast to a decrease of $276.2 billion in the previous quarter. Profits of domestic financial corporations increased $26.5 billion in the second quarter, in contrast to a decrease of $42.2 billion in the previous quarter. Profits of domestic nonfinancial corporations decreased $145.9 billion, compared with a decrease of $190.5 billion in the previous quarter. The rest-of-the-world component of profits decreased $89.5 billion, compared with a decrease of $43.5 billion in the previous quarter.
- Personal income decreased 2.7% in August, and personal consumption expenditures increased 1.0%. The price index for personal consumption expenditures increased 0.3% in August, following a 0.4% increase in the previous month. The core index also increased 0.4% in August. The headline index was up 1.4%, and the core index was up 1.6% from August 2019.
- Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2020, as real GDP for the nation decreased at an annual rate of 31.4 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The percent change in real GDP in the second quarter ranged from negative 20.4% in the District of Columbia to negative 42.2% in Hawaii and Nevada
- August construction spending was up 1.4% from the previous month and was up 2.5% from a year ago. Residential construction increased 3.7%, while nonresidential construction decreased 0.1%. Total private construction increased 1.9% in August, while total public construction increased 0.1%. Year-to-date total construction was up 4.2% from the same period in 2019. Total private construction was up 3.6% during the first eight months of the year from the same period in 2019, while total public consumption was up 6.1%.
- The results of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed mortgage rates decreasing. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 2.88% for the week ending October 1, down slightly from last week when it averaged 2.90%. A year ago, at this time, the 30-year fixed rate averaged 3.65%. The 15-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 2.36%, down slightly from the previous week when it averaged 2.40%. A year ago, at this time, the 15-year fixed rate averaged 3.14%.
- Mortgage applications decreased 4.8% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 25, 2020.
- The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing survey indicated that the manufacturing sector grew in September, and the overall economy grew for the 5th consecutive month. The headline index was 55.4, a decrease of 0.6 percentage point from the August reading of 56.0.
- There were 34,324,207 COVID-19 confirmed cases in the world, 1,023,451 deaths, and 23,879,516 recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University, Coronavirus Resource Center (access date and time: 10/2/2020, 7:00 EST). In the United States, there are 7,279,065 confirmed cases, 207,816 deaths, and 2,860,650 recovered cases. The world is struggling to control the spread of the virus.
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