US Jobs Report Is Expected to Show Stable Growth in September

Economists anticipate that hiring picked up slightly in September while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, an outcome that would assuage any lingering concerns that labor demand is deteriorating.

Nonfarm payrolls likely rose by 150,000 last month, based on the median forecast of estimates in a Bloomberg survey. That would be up from 142,000 in August and the most in four months.

Softer hiring and a rise in the jobless rate earlier this year were major drivers behind the Federal Reserve’s decision to start its policy-easing campaign with a large half-a-point cut in interest rates last month. Chair ...