U.S. Employment Inches Up By 12,000 Jobs In October, Far Less Than Expected

(RTTNews) - With increases in healthcare and government jobs partly offset by decreases in temporary and manufacturing jobs, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing employment in the U.S. edged only slightly higher in the month of October.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment crept up by 12,000 jobs in October compared to economist estimates for the addition of 113,000 jobs.

The report also showed a modest downward revision to job growth in September as well as a more significant downward revision to job growth in August.

Employment in September shot up by 223,000 jobs compared to the previously reported surge of 254,000 jobs, while employment in August rose by 78,000 jobs compared to the previously reported jump of 159,000 jobs.

With the downward revisions, employment in August and September increased by 112,000 fewer jobs than previously reported.

The uptick in employment in October came as employment in the healthcare and social assistance sector increased by 51,300 jobs, while the government added 40,000 jobs.

On the other hand, temporary help services jobs fell by 48,5000 and manufacturing jobs declined by 47,000 due in part to the strike by Boeing (BA) machinists.

The Labor Department noted the jobs data was likely impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton but said it is not possible to quantify the net effect because the establishment survey is not designed to isolate effects from extreme weather events.

"At a critical moment, unfortunately the signal from the October employment report is not a clear one for the Fed or markets given the distortions from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the Boeing labor strike, which we estimate lowered the payroll count by 100,000," said Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic.

She added, "These readings along with the decline in job openings suggests a labor market that continues to cool and supports our call that the Fed cuts the funds rate by 25bps next week."

Meanwhile, the report said the unemployment rate came in at 4.1 percent in October, unchanged from September and in line with economist estimates.

The unemployment rate came in unchanged as the household survey measure of employment plunged by 368,000 persons but the labor force also shrank by 220,000 persons.

The Labor Department also said average hourly employee earnings climbed by $0.13 or 0.4 percent to $35.46 in October. The annual rate of wage growth ticked up to 4.0 percent in October from a revised 3.9 percent in September.