US employers added just 12,000 jobs in October, unemployment rate remained at 4.1% last month

Employers in the United States (US) added just 12,000 jobs in October, and theunemployment rate remained at 4.1 per centlast month, according to data shared by the Labor Department on Friday (Nov 1).

The report provided a somewhat blurry view of the job market at the end of a presidential race that has pivoted heavily on voters’ feelings about the economy.

The report said that October's hiring gainwas down significantly from the 223,000 jobs that were added in September.

What led to the low rate of job opportunities in October?

Citing economists, a report by the news agency Associated Press early Saturday said that HurricanesHelene and Milton, combined with strikes at Boeing and elsewhere, had the effect of pushing down netgrowth by tens of thousands of jobs last month.

The unemployment rate of 4.1 per cent suggested thatthe labour market was still fundamentally healthy, if not as robust as it was early this year.

Combined with an inflation rate that has tumbled from its 2022 peak to near pre-pandemic levels, the overall economy appears to be on solid footing on the eve of Election Day, the report added.

Storms andstrikes caused100,000 jobs to be dropped

The government has not estimated how many jobs were likely removed temporarily from payrolls in October. But economists saidthe storms and strikes caused up to 100,000 jobs to be dropped. Reflecting the impact of the strikes, factories shed 46,000 positions last month.

The employment report for October also revised down the government’s estimate of the job gains in August and September by a combined 112,000, indicating that the labour market was notquite as robust then as initially thought.

Yet as voters choose between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to be the next US president, a large number of Americans have said they are unhappy with the state of the economy.Despite the plummeting inflation, many people are exasperated by high prices.

Signs of slowdown in job market

Meanwhile, there have been signs of a slowdown in the job market. Earlier this week, the Labour Departmentreported that employers posted 7.4 million job openings in September, the fewest openings since January 2021.

A total of3.1 million Americans quit their jobs in September, the fewest in more than four years.

(With inputs from agencies)