Job growth declines for second straight month; unemployment falls again to 50-year low

Job growth in the United States dropped for the second straight month in September, signaling flagging economic prospects even as unemployment fell to low levels similar to those seen 50 years prior. 

The U.S. nonfarm payroll roster grew by 263,000 in September, falling from 315,000 new jobs in August and 528,000 in July. 

The slowing rate of growth indicates the Federal Reserve's aggressive efforts to put a lid on inflation in the U.S. are having a depressive effect on economic activity. The Fed has been raising interest rates over the last several months in order to combat sky-high inflation at nearly every consumer index. 

Though the second straight month of growth declines suggests a worsening economic outlook, the U.S. unemployment rate still declined to 3.5%, reclaiming a 50-year low that it had briefly realized in July of this year.