Another month, another record broken. Reasonable skepticism has likely doubted whether or not the unemployment rate can drop much lower. Dropping under 4 percent was perhaps once thought of as unfathomable. However, such thoughts are now old news. The unemployment rate in September fell not to 3.9 percent, not 3.8 percent, but 3.7 percent, once again setting a new low not hit since the year 1969.

“Economists had predicted the economy would add 180,000 jobs and the unemployment rate would fall to 3.8 percent,” Breitbart reports. The jobs created did not quite hit the mark, as just 134,000 jobs were added in September. “September included hurricane Florence, which hit North Carolina and South Carolina hard. It’s likely that took a toll on jobs for the month.”

Hurricane Florence took a huge toll on the east coast, and such a devastating impact is hard to fit into predictions made by economists. However, the lower numbers in September for jobs created is more than made up for in previous months. “July’s jobs rose from an initial report of 147,000 to 165,000,” notes Breitbart. “August’s report went from 201,000 to 270,000.”

So while the jobs created fell a bit short of what was predicted, the past two months were revised upward, adding 87,000 additional jobs than were initially reported. Despite hurricane Florence, it remains possible that this upward revision trend continues for the month of September.

Nevertheless, an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent is reverberating effects throughout the economy. The potential labor pool for employers to find new employees is increasingly restricted, putting an ample amount of pressure on employers to entice workers with better working conditions, benefits, and higher wages.

“Average hourly earnings rose 2.8 percent compared with a year ago,” while “the average workweek was unchanged at 34.5 hours,” according to Breitbart. This does not include a notable rise in bonuses issued by employers at their discretion. Whenever total provisions for employees are calculated into a “greater wage” number, the percentage is surely a bit larger than the 2.8 percent suggested.