U.S. unemployment down to 3.5 percent

Despite slower hiring, unemployment hit a five-decade low in September. U.S. employers added a modest 136,000 jobs last month, according to numbers the federal government released Friday. The unemployment rate for workers without high school diplomas dropped to 4.8 percent, the lowest recorded level since 1992.

What kinds of jobs are open? The healthcare sector came in strong with 41,400 new job openings in September. Professional and business services, which include positions like engineering and accounting, also saw growth with 34,000 new positions. Job hunters in manufacturing or retail may have a harder time: Those sectors lost 2,000 and 11,400 jobs, respectively. The mining and logging sectors remained unchanged.

Dig deeper: Read other economic news from The Sift last month: The U.S.-China trade war saw a brief respite, and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the second time this year.