Welcome in, today is Tuesday, October sixth, and we begin with a September payrolls print that landed far below forecast, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. September payroll growth came in at twenty-nine thousand jobs, against a consensus near eighty-nine thousand. We previewed that print last week, with Wall Street looking for about eighty-four thousand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, cited by Advisor Perspectives, put unemployment at four point two percent, up from four point one, with employment in all major industries little changed. The revisions carry as much weight as the print. CryptoRank reports July and August were cut by sixty thousand jobs combined, and that July flipped from a twenty-one thousand gain to a ten thousand loss. Investing.com reports average hourly earnings rose one tenth of a percent on the month, while participation climbed to sixty-one point eight percent, so the higher jobless rate reflects people entering the workforce rather than a wave of job losses. That is a cooler benchmark to hold next to fourth-quarter headcount plans than August suggested. Industry reaction leans toward calling the market frozen rather than simply weak, and some treat the downward revisions as the more meaningful signal. Also today, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is moving ahead with its proposal to scrap workforce demographic data requirements, on a two to one party-line vote, according to Mondaq Business Briefing. That reaches the EEO-1 report, filed by employers with one hundred or more employees and some federal contractors, plus the EEO-2 through EEO-6 filings covering unions, public schools and state and local government employers. Chair Andrea Lucas said the reports conflict with Title Seven and with Supreme Court decisions requiring colorblind employment practices; critics in the same reporting say losing that data would hinder the agency's ability to identify systemic discrimination. Per that account, a public comment period follows publication in the Federal Register, and the requirements stay in force until a final regulation issues, so covered employers should keep filing. Finalized, it also costs employers a federal data set some use for internal pay and representation benchmarking. Staying with regulation, and following our report last week on Governor Newsom's package of worker AI protections, California has passed a law barring employers in the state from relying solely on artificial intelligence to dismiss or discipline workers. That is Personnel Today, and the summary we have states no more than that. The practical effect is a human in the loop on discipline and termination for any team running algorithmic performance tools, and California is where multi-state employers tend to calibrate those tools first. That summary does not say how the review requirement will be enforced. We will follow that as fuller reporting lands. Separately, retention. Nearly one third of employees surveyed say they are likely to look for a role elsewhere within twelve months, according to a Workday report covered by Fortune. That is roughly two employees weighing an exit for every one accepting a job, and about two thirds of employers saw shorter stints this year than last, including at companies still growing headcount. So a slack hiring market is not, on this reading, a reason to ease off retention spending. Workday ties the slide to employees not seeing career progression and not understanding where the company is headed. Per that same reporting, Edelman's forthcoming Trust at Work study puts employee trust in colleagues, managers and chief executives at a record low. Now, a few more headlines moving the trade today. HR Dive reports the Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury departments finalized a rule Monday reworking insurer price transparency reporting, welcomed by employer groups and, per that outlet, a mixed bag for insurers. Holiday hiring is getting, in HR Dive's words, smaller and more surgical, with many of the largest companies staying quiet on fourth-quarter plans. The Society for Human Resource Management faces a jury this week over an applicant's claim it mishandled her request to bring a medical service dog, Business Insider reports; SHRM says it followed proper procedure. El Dorado Furniture will pay one point three million dollars to resolve EEOC findings it favored Hispanic applicants over non-Hispanic job seekers, Bloomberg Law reports. And finally, Sirius XM has beaten allegations of AI-fueled racial bias in hiring, per HR Dive, which reports the plaintiff had applied to about one hundred fifty roles.