U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected

The October employment numbers are among the last pieces of economic data that could factor into the elections and Fed policy meeting next week.

The U.S. added just 12,000 jobs in October, a far cry from the 113,000 economists had expected, according to the Nonfarm Payrolls report.

The October employment numbers are among the last pieces of economic data that could factor into the elections and Fed policy meeting next week.

The government reported a marked weakening in the labor market last month, though it is unclear to what extent storms in the Southeast affected the data.

The unemployment rate remained at 4.1% for the third month in a row.

Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain at 4.1% in October.

The September job gain was revised down from 254,000 to 223,000.

The U.S. had added 223,000 jobs in September, down from an initially reported 254,000.

In addition to September's downward revision, August's originally reported 159,000 job gain was revised lower to 78,000.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics added a note to the report saying it was not possible to quantify the effect of the recent storms on the payroll data.

Prior to Friday morning's data, market participants were overwhelmingly expecting the Fed to trim its benchmark fed funds rate another 25 basis points at its policy meeting next week.

Checking other report details shows a bit more strength than the headline print.

Average hourly earnings grew 0.4% in October, compared with estimates for 0.3% and 0.3% in September.

Average weekly hours of 34.3 were stronger than 34.2 expected and flat from the previous month.

In traditional markets, U.S. stock index futures continue to hold modest gains following the data. The 10-year Treasury yield has dipped four basis points to 4.25% and the U.S. dollar has edged down 0.1%. The price of gold continues near a record high at $2,767 per ounce.

The above is the detailed content of U.S. Added Just 12K Jobs in October, Far Short of 113K Expected. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!