Payrolls in U.S. Effectively Up by About 600,000 as Hours Climb

By Victoria Stilwell

The U.S. economy effectively added almost 600,000 jobs in September. No, that’s not a typo.
While employers boosted payrolls by 248,000 workers last month, the workweek also climbed for the first time since March. Employees put in 34.6 hours a week on average, up from 34.5 hours in August and the most since May 2008.

In terms of economic output, that one-two punch is the same as if hiring increased by 598,000 last month, according to Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York. Every six minutes added to the workweek is equivalent to a net addition of 350,000 workers in terms of the contribution to gross domestic product, he estimated.
“You’re getting more demand and companies are
hiring, and at the same time, they’re pushing their existing workforce harder to meet that demand,” LaVorgna said in an interview. “This is businesses and households becoming more confident in the outlook by spending, investing and hiring.”
Payrolls have added an average 227,000 per month so far this year, keeping job gains on track for their best performance since 1999. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent in September, the lowest level since July 2008.