US jobs data comes in lower than expected

Employment in the United States grew by 29,000 jobs in September, missing analysts' expectations significantly, with the unemployment rate rising slightly to 4.2 percent, government data showed on Friday. Adding to the weak data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) also revised down job figures for July and August by a combined 60,000 jobs, the department said in a statement. The revision to July's data showed that the world's largest economy lost jobs that month, as opposed to posting a gain of 21,000 as previously reported. The data comes ahead of key midterm elections in November where US President Donald Trump's Republican Party is facing a stern test over his handling of the economy. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires and the Wall Street Journal had expected the US economy to add 84,000 jobs in September. Employment in most major sectors was largely unchanged, the BLS reported, with health care posting notable gains of 17,000. The sector has propped up the labour market in the United States in the last year, as an ageing population requires more care in hospitals and at home. Still, September's gains in the sector were slower than its average monthly gain of 33,000 over the last year. The financial sector continued its downward...