- US added 531,000 jobs last month
- Jobless rate falls to 4.6%
US indices jumped to fresh all-time highs during today's session after the labor market was shown to have picked up last month. The NFP report showed that the US economy added 531K jobs in October, the most in 3 months and above market forecasts of 450K. September's reading was revised from 194K to 312K. The boost in jobs was expected after COVID-19 cases and hospitalization rates declined in October.
The US added 531K new jobs in October, exceeding the 450K-payroll estimate and marking a rebound from September hiring. Source: Trading Economics
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Create account Try a demo Download mobile app Download mobile appJob growth was widespread in October, with notable job gains occurring in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in public education declined over the month.
The leisure and hospitality sector added 164K jobs. Other sectors posting solid gains included professional and business services (58.9K), manufacturing (60K), and transportation and warehousing (54K). Construction added 44K positions while health care was up 37K and retail added 35K. Source:ZeroHedge
So far this year, monthly job growth has averaged 582,000. Nonfarm employment has increased by 18.2 million since a recent trough in April 2020 but is down by 4.2 million, or 2.8%, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6%, a new pandemic low and better than expectations, while wages rose 0.4% for the month and were up 4.9% from a year ago as labor shortage forced many firms to raise their wages to attract workers.
Today's NFP report indicates that the economy's emergence from the pandemic, by most measures, remains on course. However ongoing supply-chain problems held the recovery back. Delivery delays, product shortages and port congestion prevented companies from easily replenishing products on shelves, causing prices to rise faster than usual. Prolonged supply-chain issues could stifle hiring by cutting companies' demand for workers.
