The government’s monthly jobs report offers the first glimpse at how workers and companies are faring in the aftermath of the storms, which slammed Texas and Florida. (Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman/AP)
The U.S. economy lost 33,000 jobs in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma last month, the first decline since September 2010. The unemployment rate declined slightly to 4.2 percent, the lowest since February 2001.
Analysts had been expecting job growth to slump in September after the one-two punch from the hurricanes. This was worse than predicted: The decline in job growth ended a historic 83-month stretch of expansion, the longest such streak since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began the survey in the 1930s.
But economists expect the numbers to rebound in coming months and the economy to continue to grow. Wages are also starting to improve at a noticeable pace. Average hourly wages rose 12 cents last month to $26.55, up 2.9 percent from a year ago.