In a sign the economy might not dip into recession, but that sluggish growth continues, the nation added 103,000 new jobs in September, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
The official unemployment rate remained at 9.1%, unchanged from August. The unemployment rate has been at 9.1% for three consecutive months.
In addition, the Labor Department revised upward the July and August jobs reports to show that 127,000 more jobs were added in July than originally thought, and that 57,000 more jobs were added in August than originally thought. The initial August report had showed zero job growth.
Labor experts estimate that approximately 150,000 new jobs are needed each month just to keep up with changes in the labor market, and that about 250,000 new jobs are needed each month to quickly bring down the unemployment rate.
