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President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to open up millions of square miles (kilometers) of US coastal waters to oil and gas drilling, it said Thursday, in a step that could lead to a massive expansion of fossil fuel extraction.The move comes as Washington looks increasingly out of step with much of the developed world, where there is growing acceptance of the reality of human-caused climate change.Under the plan announced by the US Department of the Interior, 34 lease sales will be offered, allowing for drilling in 1.27 billion acres (500 million hectares) — an area the size of the Amazon.The proposal includes waters off the north coast of Alaska that have never been drilled before, in the Gulf of Mexico — which the administration calls the Gulf of America — and off California.”The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, referring to Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden.Burgum insisted that offshore energy production requires a lot of time and investment.”By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.”Trump speaks frequently of what he says is the need for America to drill for more fossil fuel, and is disparaging about the global shift to renewables, which he calls a “scam.” He regularly calls climate change science “a con.”Under his presidency, the country has pulled back from international agreements on fighting climate change, and did not send an official delegation to the ongoing COP30 climate summit in Brazil.But the plans announced Thursday are likely to face pushback domestically, particularly from California, whose government pledged to block drilling in the state’s coastal waters.”Trump’s idiotic plan endangers our coastal economy and communities and hurts the well-being of Californians. This reckless attempt to sell out our coastline to his Big Oil donors is dead in the water,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.”Californians remember the environmental and economic devastation of past oil spills. For decades, California has stood firm in our opposition to new offshore drilling, and nothing will change that. The proposals are also expected to face opposition in the Gulf, where memories remain of the devastating Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010, which saw millions of gallons (liters) of oil wreck tourism and fishing.Rick Scott, a Republican senator for Florida, was quick to lodge his objections to the Trump plan.”Florida’s coasts must remain off the table for oil drilling to protect Florida’s tourism, environment, and military training opportunities,” he wrote on X.

US energy giant ExxonMobil announced Thursday the resumption of its gas development project in Mozambique, which had been suspended for several years due to a jihadist insurgency.”We have lifted force majeure (FM) for the Rovuma LNG project in Area 4,” the company said in a statement, referring to a legal concept that is invoked to suspend a project when there are unforeseen or adverse conditions.ExxonMobil holds a 25 percent stake in the planned onshore liquefied natural gas facility in the southeastern African country that is expected to begin production in 2030.A jihadist insurgency in Cabo Delgado, a northern province, has left more than 6,200 people dead since 2017, according to the NGO Acled, which collects data on conflict zones.However, it was a jihadist offensive in March 2021 that caused some 800 deaths and led oil companies to suspend their projects in the region.According to ExxonMobil’s website, Area 4 is operated by a joint venture called Mozambique Rovuma Venture.The venture is 70 percent owned by a consortium — ExxonMobil, the Italian ENI, and the Chinese CNPC — while XRG (Abu Dhabi), KOGAS (South Korea), and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos each hold a 10 percent stake.”We are working with our partners and the government of Mozambique to ensure the safety of our people and facilities, as we look to develop a world-class LNG project that can help drive economic growth,” said the oil giant, which is based in Spring, Texas.It specified that planning was nearing completion and the final investment decision should be made during the course of 2026.In October, ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods said the company was optimistic about moving ahead with a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, where NGOs have loudly criticized a plan by French petroleum giant TotalEnergies to resume work.Woods that month hosted the president of Mozambique in Houston and rated the meeting as “really productive.” TotalEnergies announced on October 25 that it had lifted the force majeure and resumed its own project in Mozambique after operations were suspended for four years.On Wednesday, Mozambique’s government announced that it would audit losses caused by the suspension of the French group’s project.When AFP asked the company about it on Thursday, ExxonMobil did not indicate whether it also planned to seek compensation for losses.

A US plan backed by President Donald Trump to end Russia’s war in Ukraine is “good” for both sides, the White House said Thursday, rejecting concerns that it echoes many of Moscow’s demands.Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been “quietly” working on the plan for a month, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.”It’s ongoing and it’s in flux, but the president supports this plan. It’s a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides,” she told a briefing.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met in Kyiv with a Pentagon delegation headed by US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, said any deal to end Russia’s invasion must bring a “dignified peace”, with “respect for our independence, our sovereignty”.Zelensky’s office said he expected to discuss the points with Trump in the coming days.On the ground, Russia claimed to have recaptured the key city of Kupiansk in eastern Ukraine, as President Vladimir Putin visited an army command post to speak with officers about the situation at the front.The Ukrainian army denied Russia had retaken Kupiansk, which Kyiv lost to Moscow the day it launched its invasion in 2022, then wrested back.Here’s what we know about the US plan:- Territory –   Details of the plan, reported to contain 28 points, have been covered widely by Western media, and a senior source familiar with the matter also shared some aspects with AFP.What is known suggests Ukraine is being asked to concede to Russia’s key demands, while appearing to get very little in return.On territory, the plan calls for the “recognition of Crimea and other regions that the Russians have taken”, the source said.Russia’s army occupies around a fifth of the country — much of it ravaged by years of fighting.The Kremlin claims to have annexed five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in 2022 and Crimea in 2014.Moscow has previously demanded that Ukraine completely withdraw its troops from the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, in exchange for freezing the front line in the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.Ukraine has said it will never recognise Russian control over its land, but has conceded it might be forced to get it back through diplomatic means.Ceding territory in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions that Ukraine still controls could leave Ukraine vulnerable to future attacks by Russia.”It is a matter of our country’s survival,” Zelensky said recently.- Army and weapons -The plan calls for Ukraine to reduce its army to 400,000 personnel, cutting its military by more than half, the same source told AFP.Kyiv would also be required to give up all long-range weapons, the source added.Other media reports said there would be a complete ban on Western troops being deployed to Ukraine.That fits with previous Russian demands that have been made public and goes against what Ukraine has cast as red lines.The proposal also reportedly includes vague provisions for Ukraine to negotiate some kind of security guarantees with the United States and Europe.Ukraine wants concrete Western-backed assurances, ideally in the form of NATO membership or similar defence guarantee and a European peacekeeping force, to prevent Russia from invading again.- Whose plan? -The contents of the plan have fuelled suggestions that Russia was involved in drafting it.US media outlet Axios reported it had been drawn up by the Trump administration in secret consultation with Moscow.”It seems that the Russians proposed this to the Americans, they accepted it,” the senior source told AFP.”An important nuance is that we don’t understand whether this is really Trump’s story” or “his entourage’s”, the official added.After the plans were first reported, Rubio said “a durable peace will require both sides to agree to difficult but necessary concessions”.Since returning to the White House, Trump’s position on the Ukraine war has shifted dramatically back and forth. Over 2025, he has gone from calling Zelensky a “dictator” to urging Kyiv to try to reclaim all the land captured by Russia and hitting Moscow with sanctions.- Invigorating diplomacy? – Ukraine said the United States had told it the proposal “could invigorate diplomacy”.Zelensky confirmed the US delegation visiting Kyiv had presented the plan, but did not give details.The Kremlin said it had nothing to say when asked about reports on the plan.The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said any peace settlement must have the agreement of both Kyiv and Brussels.”We have to understand that in this war, there is one aggressor and one victim. So we haven’t heard of any concessions on the Russian side,” she added.

President Donald Trump’s deployment of thousands of National Guard troops in the US capital is unlawful, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.District Court Judge Jia Cobb ordered an end to the deployment but stayed her order for 21 days to allow the Trump administration time to file an appeal.The Republican president has sent National Guard troops to Democratic-run Washington, Los Angeles and Memphis to combat crime and help enforce his crackdown on undocumented migrants.Federal judges have temporarily blocked the deployment of troops in two other Democratic-controlled cities — Chicago and Portland — and the Supreme Court is expected to deliver the final word soon on whether the actions are lawful.Trump ordered more than 2,000 National Guard to patrol Washington on August 11, claiming the city was a “filthy and crime ridden embarrassment.”Brian Schwalb, attorney general for the US capital, filed a lawsuit in September seeking to end the deployment of the National Guard in the city.”Deploying the National Guard to engage in law enforcement is not only unnecessary and unwanted, but it is also dangerous and harmful to the District and its residents,” Schwalb said.Cobb, in her opinion, said the Trump administration had “acted contrary to law” by deploying the National Guard for “for non-military, crime-deterrence missions in the absence of a request from the city’s civil authorities.”The judge, an appointee of Democratic president Joe Biden, also said the administration had overstepped its authority by bringing National Guard troops from out-of-state to patrol the capital.Trump’s extraordinary domestic use of the National Guard was also challenged by California earlier this year after the president sent troops to Los Angeles to quell protests sparked by the rounding up of undocumented migrants.A district court judge ruled it unlawful but an appeals court panel allowed the Los Angeles deployment to proceed.Trump has denied charges he is strictly targeting cities run by his political opponents for his anti-crime campaign and immigration crackdown.

The US health agency has updated its official website to reflect the vaccine skepticism of a senior Trump official, a move that medical and public health experts widely condemned.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Wednesday revised its site with language that undermines its previous, scientifically grounded position that immunizations do not cause the developmental disability autism.Years of research demonstrate that there is no causal link between vaccinations and autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders.But Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the nation’s health chief, has long voiced anti-vaccine rhetoric and inaccurate claims connecting the two.The CDC webpage on vaccines and autism had previously stated that studies show “no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder,” citing a body of high-quality research including a 2013 study from the agency itself.That text reflects medical and scientific consensus, including guidance from the World Health Organization.But the changes rebuke it. The website now asserts that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”The revised language accuses health authorities of having “ignored” research supporting a link and said the US health department “has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism.”The notion linking the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism stems from a flawed study published in 1998, which was retracted for including falsified data. Its results have not been replicated and are refuted by subsequent research.Amid the rewrite, one header remained: “Vaccines do not cause Autism.”But a footnote explains that the line wasn’t cut due to an agreement Kennedy had made with the Republican lawmaker Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor who chairs the Senate committee focused on health.- ‘Do not trust this agency’ -The CDC website edits were met with anger, fear and concern by career scientists and other public health figures who have spent years combatting such false information, including from within the agency.”Staff are very worried and upset about everything happening surrounding vaccines,” a CDC union member, who asked not to be named for fear of retribution, told AFP.Helen Tager-Flusberg, director of Boston University’s Center for Autism Research Excellence, called the changes “terribly disturbing.””I feel like we are going back to the Dark Ages. I feel like we are undermining science by tying it to people’s political agendas,” the psychologist told AFP.”We’re going to see a significant increase in these childhood diseases.”Demetre Daskalakis — the former director of the agency’s arm focused on immunization and respiratory diseases, who resigned earlier this year in protest — was unequivocal: “DO NOT TRUST THIS AGENCY.”Susan Kressly, president of American Academy of Pediatrics, said “we call on the CDC to stop wasting government resources to amplify false claims that sow doubt in one of the best tools we have to keep children healthy and thriving: routine immunizations.”Pointing to “40 high-quality studies,” she said that “the conclusion is clear and unambiguous: There’s no link between vaccines and autism.”The anti-vaccine advocacy group Children’s Health Defense meanwhile praised the revisions. The organization’s CEO Mary Holland said “thank you, Bobby” on X.Kennedy is the founder and former chairman of the nonprofit.

President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday vehemently denied South Africa’s announcement that the United States was ending a boycott of this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, saying no US official would take part in talks.President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier Thursday described an 11th-hour about-turn by the Trump administration, which had relentlessly attacked South Africa over treatment of white minority farmers by the post-apartheid government.The White House said the US ambassador would attend but only for a handover ceremony as the United States will next year host the summit of the club of global economic powers, at a golf club owned by Trump in Florida.”The United States is not participating in official talks at the G20 in South Africa,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.”I saw the South African president running his mouth a little bit against the United States and the president of the United States earlier today, and that language is not appreciated by the president or his team,” she said.Ramaphosa earlier said that the United States had a “change of mind about participating in one shape, form or other, in the summit.”Ramaphosa said the supposed change of heart was “a positive sign”. “All countries are here, and the United States, the biggest economy in the world, needs to be here,” he said. Ramaphosa’s remarks came despite the US embassy in Pretoria sending a notice that it would not attend.In the weekend message, it said South Africa’s G20 priorities “run counter to the US policy views and we cannot support consensus on any documents negotiated under your presidency.”The agenda included improving debt sustainability for low-income countries, financing a “just energy transition” and harnessing “critical minerals for inclusive growth and sustainable development”.- Trump pulls US from world gatherings -The Group of 20 represents some 85 percent of the global economy, with its summits becoming major gatherings for world leaders since the economic crisis of 2008.Trump had initially agreed to send Vice President JD Vance before ruling out any participation.The G20 summit is the latest major international gathering to be snubbed by the United States under Trump.The United States is also shunning the ongoing COP30 climate talks in Brazil, with Trump instead defending fossil fuels and rejecting the scientific consensus on the planet’s rising temperatures.Trump has singled out South Africa for harsh treatment since he returned to the White House in January, often seizing on far-right commentary on the internet.Trump has repeated debunked claims that white Afrikaners are being systematically “killed and slaughtered” in the country, which has high levels of violence. The Trump administration also expelled South Africa’s ambassador after he accused Trump of racism.Trump has imposed 30 percent trade tariffs on South Africa, the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.Despite Trump’s boycott, US businesses are well represented at a separate Business 20 (B20) event that wound up in Johannesburg on Thursday.  The head of the US Chamber of Commerce, Suzanne Clark, thanked South Africa for fostering “real collaboration between G20 nations during a time of rapid change” during its presidency.”The US Chamber of Commerce will use our B20 leadership to foster international collaboration,” Clark said.The United States has significant business interests in South Africa with more than 600 US companies operating there, according to the South African embassy in Washington. bur-ho-ub-sct/iv

US President Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that Democratic lawmakers who urged the military to refuse illegal orders could be executed, calling them traitors and accusing them of “seditious behavior.”Democrats immediately slammed Trump’s “absolutely vile” threats against the six senators and representatives, who made the comments in a video posted on X on Tuesday.”This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” Trump said on Truth Social. He then added in a later post: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”The 79-year-old also reposted a message from a user urging him to “hang them” and saying that the first US president, George Washington, would have done the same.The Democratic lawmakers all have backgrounds in the military or intelligence services and included Senator Mark Kelly, a former member of the Navy and NASA astronaut, and Senator Elissa Slotkin, who served with the CIA in Iraq.”You can refuse illegal orders,” they said in the video, accusing Trump of “pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens.”They did not specify which orders they were referring to, but Trump has ordered the National Guard into multiple US cities, in many cases against the wishes of local officials, in a bid to bring allegedly rampant unrest under control.Abroad, Trump has ordered strikes on a series of alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that have left more than 80 people dead and which experts say are illegal.- ‘Lighting a match’ -White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later walked back Trump’s suggestion, saying that the president did not want to see members of Congress executed.She still lashed out at the lawmakers, saying: “Why aren’t you talking about what these members of Congress are doing to encourage and incite violence?”The Democratic Party reacted furiously to Trump’s remarks.”Trump just called for the death of Democratic elected officials. Absolutely vile,” the party posted on its official X account.The lawmakers in the video vowed not to be deterred by Trump’s threats, saying they were “veterans and national security professionals who love this country” and had sworn an oath to defend the US constitution.”That oath lasts a lifetime, and we intend to keep it. No threat, intimidation, or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation,” they said.Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of fanning the flames of violence among his supporters.”He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline,” Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor.Trump previously evoked the death penalty in 2023 in relation to his former top US military officer Mark Milley, who became an outspoken critic of the president.After Milley told journalist Bob Woodward that he had secretly called his Chinese counterpart amid tensions after Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in January 2021, Trump said “in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”Trump’s death penalty comments came as he faces perhaps the most political pressure since his return to the White House in January.In recent weeks his grip on the Republican party has been shaken by the scandal over disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and by off-year elections in New York, New Jersey and Virginia in which Democrats scored major wins.

A US peace plan backed by President Donald Trump that is being negotiated with Russia and Ukraine is “good” for both sides, the White House said Thursday, rejecting concerns that it echoes many of Moscow’s demands.Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been “quietly” working on the plan for a month, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “It’s ongoing and it’s in flux, but the president supports this plan. It’s a good plan for both Russia and Ukraine, and we believe that it should be acceptable to both sides,” Leavitt told a briefing.”We’re working very hard to get it done,” she said, adding that Washington was “having good conversations” with Ukraine and Russia “to understand what these countries would commit to.”It was the first official confirmation from the White House of the draft plan that Ukrainian officials earlier said Washington had presented to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.Details provided to AFP by a source familiar with the matter showed that it contained many of Moscow’s maximalist demands for ending the war, including Ukraine surrendering territory and cutting its armed forces.Leavitt declined to give details of the proposal but denied that it would be unfavorable to Ukraine.Rubio and Witkoff had met Ukrainian representatives in the last week, she said.Trump had become “increasingly frustrated” with both sides but was committed to ending the war, she said. The Republican promised to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office in January.”I know there’s a lot of criticism out there and a lot of doubters, but I would just remind you of the historic success that this president and his team accomplished in the Middle East,” she said, referring to the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.”We believe that is possible with Russia and Ukraine and we’re hoping and working very hard to achieve that,” she said.

US retail giant Walmart reported higher quarterly revenue Thursday and raised its financial outlook, in better-than-expected results as it won over households hit by rising costs of living.The earnings report of Walmart, which caters to buyers across income groups,is seen as a key gauge of consumer behavior as Americans become more price-sensitive.The company’s revenues rose 5.8 percent to $179.5 billion for the three months ending October 31, exceeding analyst expectations.Its earnings per share also came in above estimates at 62 cents.Walmart lifted its outlook for the fiscal year too, saying it expected net sales to grow between 4.8 percent and 5.1 percent, up from a previously anticipated 3.75 percent to 4.75 percent increase.”We saw strength across income cohorts, and especially with higher-income households,” said Walmart chief executive Doug McMillon in an earnings call.In the United States, he added, consumers are “still spending, with upper- and middle-income households driving our growth,” while lower-income families face more pressure.Investors have been watching for signs that consumers feel the squeeze from higher costs as President Donald Trump’s tariffs flow through the world’s biggest economy.There has not been a sharp inflation surge since he imposed wave after wave of duties on different sectors and trading partners but policymakers note that the full effect of steeper duties has yet to be seen.Meanwhile, prices have continued rising, more noticeably in some sectors than others.McMillon noted that the firm was working to resist “upward pressure on our cost of goods.”Prices at Walmart’s US stores rose 1.3 percent, the company said, lower than overall consumer inflation and a sign that it has been able to ease the effects of Trump’s tariffs.Walmart added that it has seen a smaller impact from duties than it had expected early in the year, and that staff have worked to manage costs by juggling inventory, price gaps and product offerings.McMillon said in a statement that e-commerce was a “bright spot” this quarter, growing 27 percent globally.Walmart shares rose 5.9 percent around 1845 GMT.Thursday’s report came shortly after fellow retailer Target posted a fall in quarterly sales, while home improvement chain Home Depot reported lower-than-expected demand in results earlier this week.This underscored concerns about US consumption, a key driver of the economy in recent years. Consumer spending, propped up by a resilient jobs market, had buoyed the economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.But the jobs market has been cooling, while businesses find themselves hit by higher import costs. Consumers in turn have become more price-sensitive.Walmart said Thursday that it saw gains across categories in its US market, ranging from groceries to general merchandise.The big-box retailer added that “customer value proposition with everyday low prices and increased convenience is resonating.”It said its revenue uptick came with strength across all segments.Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, noted that Walmart has acquired new shoppers from higher income brackets, expanding from its core footprint of groceries and essentials.”While the gains currently being made here are not quite as sharp as they were a couple of years back, the numbers are still rising as more people turn to Walmart for great value and to save money,” he added.Walmart’s earnings are closely monitored this quarter also as policymakers and investors saw a pause in official economic data releases during a record-long government shutdown between October and mid-November.On Thursday, Walmart said it will transfer the listing of its common stock to the Nasdaq, and start trading there on December 9.Come February 2026, CEO McMillon will be succeeded by John Furner, who has served as president of Walmart US.

The US jobless rate crept up in September although hiring exceeded analyst expectations, according to a delayed employment report published Thursday after a record-long government shutdown.The figures, marking the last official jobs report before the Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting, paint a mixed picture of a softening — but not rapidly crumbling — labor market.This could deepen a divide in the central bank on whether a third straight interest rate cut is warranted in December, with some officials already pushing for lower rates to boost the economy and others likely arguing that policymakers can wait a little longer.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt lauded the latest figures, saying they “showed the American economy remains strong.”The world’s biggest economy added 119,000 jobs in September — a robust uptick from August — but the unemployment rate edged up from 4.3 percent to 4.4 percent, said the Labor Department.Meanwhile, revised data for August showed that the employment situation was gloomier than originally estimated, with the economy shedding 4,000 jobs, rather than adding 22,000 as had been reported.Analysts note that even though unemployment ticked higher, this appears to be because more people entered the labor force seeking jobs.Thursday’s publication marks the first official snapshot of the overall labor market’s health in over two months, due to a 43-day government shutdown that ended just last week.But this also means that the data is backward-looking, at a time when the jobs market has been weakening amid mass firing of federal workers and the turmoil from President Donald Trump’s multiple tariffs on imports.A sharply weakening jobs market could nudge the Fed towards further rate cuts to support the economy, but the central bank is also trying to keep inflation in check.Traders now see a 60 percent chance the Fed will keep rates unchanged in December, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.- Temporary reassurance -The sharp hiring rebound “soothes concerns that the labor market was on the precipice of a large downturn and removes urgency for another rate cut,” said Nationwide chief economist Kathy Bostjancic.She added that the unemployment increase was “for good reasons as more people came into the labor force looking for a job, driving up the labor force participation rate 0.1 percentage point to 62.4 percent.”Overall, the latest report showed “a somewhat softer labor market, but not one that is rapidly declining in strength,” said Mortgage Bankers Association chief economist Mike Fratantoni.Yet, even if the jobs market was not “crumbling before the government shutdown,” federal employment likely fell more steeply in October, warned Oxford Economics lead economist Nancy Vanden Houten.This is because “workers who signed up for the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program will drop off payrolls,” she said.The Labor Department is not publishing unemployment figures for October, saying that the shutdown had impacted some survey data collection.Instead of releasing a full jobs report for that month, available figures will be put out alongside November’s numbers on December 16.According to Thursday’s report, job losses occurred in transportation and warehousing, as well as in the federal government in September — even as there were gains in areas like health care.Federal government employment dropped by 3,000 and is down by 97,000 since reaching a peak in January, the report added.Average hourly earnings rose by 0.2 percent to $36.67 in September.The overall hiring figure was higher than analysts expected, with surveys of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal expecting job gains of 50,000 instead.