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The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, extending gains while still falling below some economists' expectations. The news was gloomier for the legal industry, which contracted by 0.9% between August and September, losing 900 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest jobs report.

The legal industry, including attorneys, paralegals, legal secretaries and others, employed 1,147,200 people in September, according to BLS. Last month's declines come after August brought 4,100 new jobs in the industry. The previous three months before that had seen little to no growth.

While mostly seeing slow, incremental growth, the industry lost about 1,000 jobs from June to July of this year and another 700 from March through April. At this time in 2018 there were 4,900 fewer people working in legal.

The broader professional services category fared better in September, adding 34,000 jobs between August and September, and with 440,000 more jobs than at this time in 2018.

Overall, the U.S. economy had its 108th consecutive month of payroll additions, dating back to 2010. The jobless rate hit a 50-year low of 3.5%.

Last year the economy added 223,000 jobs per month. Through September 2019 that number stands at 161,000.

The health and education sectors continued to be drivers for overall job growth, adding 39,000 in September. Manufacturing, which this spring was seeing monthly gains, has seen its growth grind to a halt. It lost 2,000 jobs in September.

This is the last report to come out prior to the Federal Reserve officials meeting set for Oct. 29 and 30. According to The New York Times, the officials are split on whether to cut rates for a third time, given slower than expected economic growth, uncertainty and shifting positions on China and consistent political turmoil in the White House.

Other BLS statistics of note:

  • Average hourly earnings for non-farm, private industry jobs were at $28.09, down 1 cent, from August levels.
  • The average workweek for all employees was 34.4 hours.
  • Overall labor force participation rate stood at 63.2% for September, remaining unchanged month over month.
  • Government hires reached 147,000 over the last 12 months, mostly in state and local as federal levels have changed little.

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