News

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by a measly 12,000 in October, impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and strike activity. August and September job gains were also revised downward by 112,000 jobs. The 12-month average stands at 181,000 job gains per month. Manufacturing employment, however, declined by 46,000, largely influenced by the Boeing strike. In addition, August and September manufacturing job losses were revised downward by 2,000. The unemployment rate stayed the same at 4.1%, while the labor force participation rate dipped 0.1% to 62.6%.

The employment-population ratio fell slightly to 60.0% and is down 0.3 percentage points from a year ago. Employed persons who are part-time workers for economic reasons decreased by 67,000 to 4.56 million but are up from 4.28 million in October 2023. Native born employment is up over the month but down 773,000 over the year. Meanwhile, foreign born employment is down over the month but up 1,034,000 over the year.

Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm payroll employees rose 0.4%, or 13 cents, reaching $35.46. Over the past year, earnings have grown 4.0%. The average workweek for all employees remained at 34.3 hours in October.