After several months of consistently remaining near historic lows, the unemployment rate experienced a slight increase to 3.9 per cent.
Washington: The US economy added 150,000 jobs in October, reflecting a labor market that has cooled over the past year, the Washington Post reported. The October payroll data includes the impact of the United Auto Workers strikes against three major auto manufacturers, despite these strikes temporarily adding to the workforce numbers. In October, approximately 45,000 United Auto Workers members participated in strikes, leading to a decrease of 35,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector, as reported by The Washington Post. These figures for October’s job data represent the second-lowest increase in employment levels since 2020.
In contrast, the expansive leisure and hospitality sector, encompassing establishments like bars, restaurants, and hotels, saw only modest employment growth. Similarly, the professional and business services category, which includes well-compensated professions like accounting, engineering, and architecture, also experienced relatively modest job growth.
After several months of consistently remaining near historic lows, the unemployment rate experienced a slight increase to 3.9 per cent. This change comes as employers have been diligently generating millions of jobs to meet the pent-up consumer demand, as reported by The Washington Post. Coming to wage growth in the US, it rose by 4.1 per cent over the previous 12 months to USD 34 an hour but continued to beat inflation and boost workers’ purchasing power.
“This report shows a lot of weakening on the surface, but it was clearly clouded by a lot of strike activity that now seems to be resolved,” said Aaron Terrazas, chief economist at Glassdoor, as per the media report. “Once you squeeze past the one-off shocks in October, it’s actually a relatively strong report.”
The unemployment rate, which hit longtime lows not seen since the late 1960s, has increased by half a percentage point since April with about 849,000 more workers reporting that they are unemployed, ANI reported. Still, the percentage of Americans who are unemployed has been below 4 per cent for nearly two years, a sign that the labor market remains much stronger.