U.S. ADDS 531K JOBS IN OCTOBER

Key Points:

  • Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 531,000 in October as the unemployment rate fell 0.2% to 4.6%.
  • Consensus among economists was a gain of 450,000 jobs.
  • Nonfarm employment is down by 5.7 Million from pre-pandemic levels in February 2020.
  • Employment in retail trade increased by 35,000 in October, and is down by 140,000 since February 2020.
  • Manufacturing employment rose by 60,000, but is still down 270,000 from its level in February 2020.
  • Employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 164,000 in October.
  • In October, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 11 cents to $30.96.
  • The average workweek for all private employees decreased by 0.1 hours to 34.7 hours in October.
  • The labor force participation rate was unchanged again at 61.6% in October and is 1.7% lower than February 2020.