Sharp Decline in U.S. Job Growth: October Adds Just 12,000 Jobs

The Labor Department said on Friday that the economy added 12,000 seasonally adjusted jobs in October, compared with 223,000 in September.

This is mainly due to the effects of hurricanes and strikes, particularly at Boeing. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.1%, demonstrating that the job market is still strong despite interruptions. Total 46,000 factory jobs were lost as a result of strikes. Coming near the end of a presidential campaign this has relied primarily on voter’s perceptions of the economy.

In contrast to the 223,000 jobs added in September, last month’s 12,000 hiring gain was far smaller. Economists anticipated the short-term consequences of Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton, and the ongoing strike by 33,000 Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest would lower job growth in October. However, the amount of jobs created was considerably smaller than their expectation of 120,000 for the month.

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Since March 2024, September was the biggest month for employment growth in the US, with a creation of an estimated 2,23,000 new positions. Until October the US had created a total average of around 2,00,000 job growth every month in 2024. 

Last month the unemployment rate was 4.1% as per the data provided by the Labor Department on Friday. The low unemployment rate suggests that the labor market is still doing good and it’s not worse even though it might not be as strong as it was at the start of the year.
Combined with an inflation rate that has fallen from its 2022 peak to near pre-pandemic levels, the overall economy appears to be doing good with Election Day coming closer. However, polling shows that Americans are seriously disappointed with the status of the economy and the overall price increases caused by three years of rising inflation.