Who Needs The BLS: US Added 60,000 Jobs In September, Best Month Of 2025

Due to the ongoing government shutdown - now in its third day - the BLS did not release the September jobs report this morning forcing traders and the Fed to "fly blind." And with ADP (whose track record has been just as woeful as that of the BLS) reporting earlier this week that some 32,000 jobs had been lost in September, putting markets and economists on edge and the US economy on the verge of a labor recession, the lack of data could not have come at a worse time. Luckily, private sector alternatives to the BLS do exist and, in many cases, are far more accurate and certainly less politicized. 

One such source was the Institute for Supply management which found that both Manufacturing and Service Jobs posted a modest rebound from multi-month lows, dashing fears of a worst case outcome.