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Business & Economy16 outlets ran this3 min read

US mortgage rates hit nearly 3-year high as jobs growth slows

Consumer confidence falls to lowest point since 2014, while wage growth shows smallest annual gain since May 2021.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
US mortgage rates hit nearly 3-year high as jobs growth slows

What this story says

  • The average U.S. mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan increased to 7.28%, a nearly three-year high.
  • U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September, a sharp decrease from August's revised 133,000.
  • The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in September from 4.1% the previous month.
  • Consumer confidence fell to 81.9 in September, the lowest figure recorded since April 2014.

Who covered it

Left 47%(7)Centre 46%(7)Right 7%(1)

Percentages are shares of the 15 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 16 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

50/100

Craft

60/100

Hype

40/100

16 sources · methodology

Thin on the right so far

Only 1 of the 15 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.

This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage in the U.S. has reached 7.28%, marking the highest level in nearly three years. This represents an increase from 7.03% the previous week. Concurrently, U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September, a substantial drop from the revised figure of 133,000 jobs added in August. The nation's unemployment rate also saw a slight increase, moving to 4.2% in September from 4.1% in August. Americans' confidence in the economy has declined, with the consumer confidence index falling to 81.9 in September, its lowest point since April 2014.

Wage growth has also slowed, with average hourly wages increasing by 3% over the last year. This is the smallest year-over-year gain recorded since May 2021. Data from the Labor Department also indicated a decrease in U.S. job openings in August, with 7.08 million openings reported, down from a revised 7.34 million in July and below the 7.2 million expected by forecasters. This figure represents the lowest number of job openings since March.

Disagreement on job growth figures

While the verified claims state that U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September, a decrease from the revised 133,000 jobs added in August, the full report from My Mother Lode includes additional detail. My Mother Lode reported that Labor Department revisions also shaved 60,000 jobs off combined July and August payrolls. None of the other reports provided this specific detail regarding the revisions to previous months' job figures.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated digests mention the U.S. economy growing at a 2.2% pace in the second quarter, a detail included in the full reports from My Mother Lode and The Independent (US). The right-rated digest from Marietta Daily Journal does not mention the consumer confidence index falling to 81.9 in September, nor does it mention the average hourly wages being up 3% last year from a year earlier, the smallest year-over-year gain since May 2021.

Tags:#MortgageRates#Unemployment#JobGrowth#ConsumerConfidence#Economy

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 3 Oct 2026, 17:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

US Employment
The Independent (US)Left

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

7 rated outlets

  • Left-rated reports highlighted the decrease in job creation, noting that U.S. employers added a disappointing 29,000 jobs in September. They also pointed to the rise in the unemployment rate to 4.2% and the fall in consumer confidence to its lowest level since 2014. These reports mentioned that average hourly wages were up 3% last year from a year earlier, the smallest year-over-year gain since May 2021. The Independent (US) and The Independent mentioned that Americans remain flustered by the economy after five years of elevated inflation, potentially posing a risk to President Donald Trump and Republicans in the midterm elections. Daily Record and The Record also noted the increased cost of living, with trips to the grocery store and gas station being more painful than the previous year.

Centre

7 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports focused on the key economic indicators: the rise in the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate to 7.28%, the decrease in job additions to 29,000 in September, and the increase in the unemployment rate to 4.2%. My Mother Lode and Washington Top News reported that consumer confidence fell to 81.9 in September, the lowest level since April 2014. These reports also noted the slowdown in wage growth, with average hourly wages up 3% last year, the smallest gain since May 2021. My Mother Lode also included details on U.S. job openings dropping in August to 7.08 million and the cooling of inflation in August, with consumer prices rising 3.4% compared to a year earlier.

Right

1 rated outlet

  • The right-rated report from Marietta Daily Journal focused on the headline economic figures: U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September, a decrease from August's revised 133,000. It also noted the unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1% in August. The digest mentioned that hiring dropped from a revised 133,000 in August.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover US mortgage rates hit nearly 3-year high as jobs growth slows?
Of the 15 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 47% are rated left, 46% are rated centre, 7% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 16. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is US mortgage rates hit nearly 3-year high as jobs growth slows left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 15 rated outlets on this story, 47% are rated left, 46% are rated centre, 7% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of US mortgage rates hit nearly 3-year high as jobs growth slows biased?
US mortgage rates hit nearly 3-year high as jobs growth slows is one event reported by 16 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which side is not reporting US mortgage rates hit nearly 3-year high as jobs growth slows?
When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
Which outlets covered US mortgage rates hit nearly 3-year high as jobs growth slows?
16 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What is the current average U.S. mortgage rate?
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage in the U.S. has risen to 7.28%. This is the highest it has been in nearly three years, an increase from 7.03% the previous week.
How many jobs were added in September?
U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September. This figure represents a significant decrease from the revised 133,000 jobs that were added in August.
What is the current U.S. unemployment rate?
The U.S. unemployment rate increased to 4.2% in September. This is a slight rise from the 4.1% rate recorded in August.
How has consumer confidence changed?
Americans' confidence in the economy has fallen to its lowest level since April 2014. The consumer confidence index dropped to 81.9 in September, down from 88.6 in August.

Read it at the source

16 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

7

Centre

7

Right

1

Not rated

1

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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