Unemployment Number Steady at 9.6%

As announced this morning by the Department of Labor, the U.S. economy lost 95,000 jobs in September; however the unemployment rate remained steady at 9.6%. The jobs loss was worse than predicted by the consensus of economists, however the decline was attributable to 159,000 government jobs lost while private sector jobs increased by 64,000.

In reviewing the September jobs details, continued month over month growth in private sector jobs, while tepid, should be considered. In September consumer spending increased in many sectors.