Report shows hiring at lowest since 2009 as economists turn to alternative data during shutdown blackout

Unemployment changed little in September, while layoff and hiring rates both slowed, according to separate labor market reports Thursday.

The jobless level barely moved at 4.34%, according to a relatively new set of data indicators compiled by the Chicago Federal Reserve. That represented little change from August, though was just 0.01 percentage point away from moving up to 4.4%, the highest level since October 2021.

In September, the central bank district announced it would be releasing its own dashboard of labor market indicators that also includes the layoff rate, which was little changed monthly at 2.1%, and the hiring rate, which moved lower to 45.2%, down 0.4 percentage point from August.

Elsewhere in the labor market, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that layoff announcements declined 37% in September and were down 26% from the same month a year ago.

However, the year-to-date level of planning furloughs is the highest since 2020, the year of the Covid pandemic. Challenger said announced cuts have totaled 946,426 through the first three quarters. The figure already is 24% higher than all of 2024.