The ISM® (Institute for Supply Management®) Manufacturing PMI® for September reported in at 50.9%, as business activity fell 1.9 points from August’s level, below most economists’ expectations and only slightly above the 50% threshold indicating expansion. The Manufacturing PMI® figure is at its lowest level since May 2020, when it registered 43.5%. The index for new orders also reached its lowest level since the pandemic, contracting 4.2 points to 47.1%. The Production index edged up 0.2 points to 50.6%. The prices index fell 0.8 points, showing rising prices at 51.7%, this is the lowest reading since June 2020. The Employment Index contracted to 48.7%, 5.5 points lower than in August. “The U.S. manufacturing sector continues to expand, but at the lowest rate since the pandemic recovery began. Following four straight months of panelists’ companies reporting softening new orders rates, the September index reading reflects companies adjusting to potential future lower demand,” said Timothy Fiore, chairman of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Nine manufacturing industries reported growth in September, while seven industries reported contraction.

The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS reported 10.1 million job openings as of the last day of August, a decline of 10% or 1.1M from July’s 11.2M reading. This is the fourth decline in five months and is the largest since April 2020. July was revised lower to show 11.170M job openings instead of 11.239M. The largest decreases in job openings were in health care and social assistance (-236,000), other services (-183,000), and retail trade (-143,000). Increases in job openings were reported in construction (+54,000), wholesale trade (+47,000), and real estate (+10,000). The number of people who quit their jobs for other opportunities increased slightly from 4.06M in July to 4.15M in August and remains at 2.7%. Quits increased in accommodation and food services (+119,000), and other services (+30,000), but decreased in professional and business services (-94,000), and retail trade (-13,000). Layoffs ticked up in slightly (+70,000), to 1.46M, but still remain at a historically low level. The number of hires rose slightly from 6.277M to 6.238M, and the rate was unchanged at 4.1%. Hiring had declined for five months in a row until August

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 263,000 jobs were added in September, down from August’s unrevised 315,000. The unemployment rate declined slightly to 3.5% from 3.7% as the number of unemployed workers dipped to 5.8 million from 6 million. Contributing to the two-percentage point decline were workers leaving the workforce, as the labor force participation rate edged lower to 62.3% from 62.4% and the size of the labor force decreased by 57,000. Contributing to the increase in September payrolls were gains in leisure and hospitality (+83K), healthcare (+60K), professional and business services (+46K), manufacturing (+22K), construction (+19K), and wholesale trade (+11K). Government employment (-25K), financial activities (-8K), and transportation and warehousing (-8k) all saw declines. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% in September. At $32.46 average hourly earnings are up 5.0% from a year ago.