October 2018 Jobs Report
Unemployment Rate: 3.7 percent
Jobs Created: 250,000
Employment and Unemployment
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The Department of Labor reported an unemployment rate of 3.7 percent for October, the same as September. It is the lowest rate in 49 years.
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Nonfarm jobs grew by 250,000 in October. Sectors with gains include manufacturing (32,000), construction (30,000), and transportation and warehousing (25,000).
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The U.S. has created more than 2.1 million new jobs since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act became law.
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Over the past year, the economy has generated 210,000 new jobs on average each month.
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The U-6 rate, a measure of unemployed and underemployed workers, was 7.4 percent, down from 8.0 percent a year ago. By this measure, 12.2 million Americans are unemployed. They include people who are unemployed (6.1 million), want work but have not looked for a job recently (1.5 million), or who are working part time because they cannot find full-time jobs (4.6 million).
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The number of long-term unemployed, those unemployed for 27 weeks or more, was 1.4 million, down 272,000 from a year ago. They account for 22.5 percent of the unemployed.
Labor Force Participation
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The labor force participation rate, the share of people employed or looking for work, is 62.9 percent, up 0.2 percent from September and below the pre-recession rate of 66 percent.
Wages
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In October, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 5 cents to $27.30. This marks a 3.1 percent increase from a year ago, the biggest annual growth in average hourly earnings since April 2009.
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