Total nonfarm payroll employment in the U.S. increased by 150,000 in October, below the average monthly gain of 258,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment in manufacturing declined due to strike activity.
Overall, the labor market cooled a little bit in October and added fewer jobs than expected. However, still comparable to the numbers prior to the pandemic. The unemployment rate has remained below 4% for 21 straight months, which is the longest-running stretch in 50 years. The White House says this indicates that inflation is falling.
Both the unemployment rate, at 3.9 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at 6.5 million, changed little in October. However, since the lows in April, these measures are up by 0.5 percentage points and 849,000, respectively.
Learn more about the recent BLS employment update below.
For the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics October jobs report, click here.
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