November 1, 2019

October 2019 Jobs Report

Unemployment Rate: 3.6 percent

Jobs Created: 128,000

Employment and Unemployment

  1. The Department of Labor reported the unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 percentage point to 3.6% in October.

  2. Nonfarm jobs grew by 128,000 in October. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had expected 75,000 jobs.

  3. Job growth for August and September was stronger than originally reported. The department revised the job creation numbers up for those months by a combined 95,000 jobs.  

  4. The U-6 unemployment rate, a measure that also includes part-time and discouraged workers, rose 0.1 percentage point to 7.0%.

  5. The department’s monthly report on large strikes indicates possible effects on employment estimates.

Labor Force Participation

  1. The labor force participation rate, the share of people employed or looking for work, increased 0.1 percentage point to 63.3%.

Wages

  1. In October, average hourly earnings for all employees in private nonfarm jobs increased by 6 cents to $28.18. They are up 3.0% from a year ago.

Issue Tag: Labor