After a lengthy delay due to the longest government shutdown on record, Americans were just handed good news about the U.S. economy today.
After a seven-week delay, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its September jobs report today announcing U.S. employers added 119,000 jobs in September, surpassing expectations AND giving President Donald Trump a much-needed boost.
The surge in new jobs was more than double consensus forecasts of 50,000, according to analysts.
The jobs report more than DOUBLED expectations, with 119,000 new jobs added in September!
Under @POTUS’ leadership, we’re making progress to restore the American Dream and unleash historic prosperity for our workers 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/AwHWJFvBrM
— U.S. Department of Labor (@USDOL) November 20, 2025
Today’s job report is a boon for both Trump and the American public after analysts continued to watch for signs that the labor market was in a sustained slump following months of sluggish hiring.
In previous months, many industries instituted mass layoffs beginning to take hold, and some of President Trump’s critics, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell continued to fear the U.S. may be moving toward an all-round weaker labor landscape.
But one analyst wrote about today’s report “suggests the labor market remains far from recessionary territory,” and administration officials have already held up the figures as evidence that the economy is on strong footing. However, others believe the backward-looking data will do little to ease current concerns about the employment situation, which continues to exhibit signs of difficulty.
September’s increase was driven by gains in health care (+43,000), food services and drinking places (+37,000), and social assistance (+14,000), according to the data cited in the report.
Mark Hamrick, a senior economist at Bankrate, told Newsweek the report helped to “quell recession fears.”
Chris Zaccarelli, the chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, also told Newsweek in response to the jobs report that the “one-two punch” of better-than-anticipated jobs figures and Nvidia’s recent earnings success “should give the market a boost, given that it directly addresses the two biggest concerns of the bears: an AI bubble and a moribund economy.”
The better-than-anticipated news also comes on the heels of Trump announcing that he is moving forward with a plan of giving Americans up to $2,000 in rebates derived from the revenues his tariff agenda has generated.
So what’s next?
The BLS on Wednesday confirmed that it would not be releasing a full jobs report for the month of October, previously set for release on November 7, citing data collection issues caused by the government shutdown.
Payroll data will be included alongside November’s report on December 16, according to the agency.