Washington, DC, October 6, 2006--Job growth decelerated to its slowest pace since the hurricanes struck the Gulf Coast last year, the Labor Department said Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 51,000 in September lower than the 123,000 expected by economists.
But the separate household survey showed more strength. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.6% in September from 4.7% in the previous month.
Economists forecast the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.7%. In addition, there were 62,000 more jobs created in July and August that previously estimated.
Average hourly earnings increased $0.04s, or 0.2% to $16.84. Economists had been expecting a 0.3% gain. Earnings are up 4.0% in the past year. The average workweek held steady at 33.8 hours, in line with expectations.
