National jobs report

October’s slowdown bigger than expected with only 12,000 jobs added

Experts were already predicting a muddled labor report for October, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest release still managed to surprise many. Only 12,000 jobs were added, making this the slowest growth since late 2020.

Ahead of Friday’s release, economists were unsure what to expect, but it was closer to around 100,000 jobs being added. The slowdown was forecasted for several reasons, including 44,000 Boeing workers going on strike last month and the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton on the number of jobs reported.

In addition, Challenger, Gray & Christmas released a report on job cuts the day prior. It found that layoff announcements dropped nearly 24% in October from September, but that number was still 4% higher than the year before.

Additional results:

• For 2024, the average number of jobs gained per month was about 200,000
• Unemployment rate held at 4.1%
• Average hourly earnings increased 0.4%
• Labor force participation rate fell to 62.6% from 62.7%
• August’s numbers were revised downward to 78,000, while September’s were dropped to 112,000
• Healthcare (52,000) and government (40,000) industries led hiring
• Manufacturing jobs fell by 46,000, which included Boeing workers on strike

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