U.S. employers added just 12,000 jobs last month — but the number was depressed by a machinists’ strike at Boeing and Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
U.S. employers added a scant 12,000 jobs in October — but the labor market is likely not as weak as that number implies.
That’s because the number was skewed by an ongoing strike at Boeing and by the impact of Hurricanes Milton and Helene. The unemployment rate, which is less subject to temporary distortions, held steady at 4.1% in October, according to the Labor Department report released on Friday.
Overall the labor market likely is cooling but remains fairly resilient despite the weak October numbers. Nonetheless, the report comes at a sensitive time, just days before a closely-contested presidential election in which the economy is top of mind for voters.
The data also comes ahead of a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates next week.There is cooling in the labor market
The machinists’ strike at Boeing — now in its second month — has idled more than 40,000 workers, accounting for nearly all of the decline in manufacturing employment last month.
