The number of jobs in the United States grew in September for the 21st consecutive month and the unemployment rate remains at pandemic lows. The joblessness rate unexpectedly fell to 3.5 percent in September, down from 3.7 percent a month earlier, but it’s partly because more Americans have dropped out of the labor force or stopped looking for jobs.

Still, a number of major companies are hitting the brakes on hiring and, in some cases, letting workers go. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland said this week it will lay off 978 employees. Hardwick Clothes, the country’s oldest suit-maker, is shutting down a plant in Cleveland, Tenn., that will cost 129 people their jobs. And Peloton, the home gym equipment maker and pandemic darling, is laying off 500 workers, or 12 percent of its workforce, in its fourth round of job cuts this year.

Public schools lost 21,700 jobs last month, while the trucking industry was down 11,000 positions and employment in insurance fell by 9,000, the Labor Department’s latest jobs report shows. There were also thousands of job losses in retail, legal services and advertising. In all, U.S. employers added 263,000 jobs in September, considerably fewer than the year-to-date average of 420,000 jobs per month.

Overall U.S. job openings fell by nearly 10 percent in August, as firms across industries rolled back their plans. Facebook parent company Meta, for example, is implementing a hiring freeze. The tech giant is pausing new offers to job candidates, sourcing candidates, approving internal transfers and even finalizing graduations from its Bootcamp training program, according to a memo viewed by The Washington Post.

Read the full report here