Weak US jobs data hits recovery prospects

The US economy shed jobs in September for the first time in five months in a report that may add to doubts about the US recovery…

The US economy shed jobs in September for the first time in five months in a report that may add to doubts about the US recovery.

Payrolls outside the farm sector fell by 43,000 - in contrast to the 5,000 gain private economists had predicted, the US Labor Department said.

But in another unexpected development, the department also said the unemployment rate fell to 5.6 per cent in September from 5.7 per cent in August.

September marked the first payroll decline since a 21,000 job loss in April. Offsetting some of the gloomy news in the September figure, however, was a sharp upward revision in August payrolls to a 107,000 gain from a previously reported 39,000 increase.