After a 43-day government shutdown-induced delay, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is slowly returning to its regular programming. On Thursday, the BLS released the long-awaited September jobs data, originally scheduled to publish on Oct. 3, but stalled due to the government shutdown. While the data is nearly two months old, it still is useful for assessing the broader context of the labor market, some leading economists say.

Step back in time. Private non-farm employers added 119,000 jobs in September, significantly beating the Dow Jones estimate of 50,000. September, based on initial estimates, marked an uptick in hiring following a sharp cooldown in job growth earlier this summer. By comparison, the BLS revised job gains for July and August down by 33,000 for both months, with July adding just 72,000 jobs and August losing 4,000.

“What we see in today’s report, adding 119,000 jobs, says that maybe things are holding up a little better than some of the previous reports were telling us,” said Cory Stahle, a senior economist at Indeed. At the same time, job gains have been smaller this year than in recent years, he noted. For example, employers added 240,000 jobs in September 2024.

Despite the strong top-line number, a more granular look at job gains by industry and employment statistics shared in the household survey shows a mixed bag for the US labor market in September.

For more on what HR needs to know about the state of the labor market, keep reading here.—PM

What’s harder than being a leader? Being a good leader.

And even the best leaders have to evolve and learn new strategies, especially as organizational challenges continue to crop up. So, that’s why Katie Best, leadership coach and consultant, offers leaders a framework for tackling any challenge thrown their way in her book, The Ten Toughest Leadership Problems: And How to Solve Them.

Best shared with HR Brew the leadership framework she crafted to help leaders navigate any storm.

For more from our conversation with Best, keep reading here.—MC

AI continues to drive the job market, with postings reflecting the impact of the technology.

CompTIA Chief Research Officer Tim Herbert told IT Brew that AI’s effect on hiring shouldn’t be overstated. In a recent survey of 1,200 professionals in the IT space, the trade association found that the technology is being introduced throughout tech organizations—but it’s not always clear if it’s being implemented effectively.

“Companies are experimenting, they’re attempting to move from pilot project to full production, and they’re hitting snags along the way,” Herbert said. “That’s not uncommon; we have seen that with just about every digital transformation technology over the past 10, 20 years.”

For more on AI’s role in the job market, keep reading on IT Brew.—EH

The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s weekly news quiz has been compared to getting a company-wide shout out from your boss. It’s that satisfying.