Skip to main content

Economy Gains 250,000 Jobs in October; Unemployment Unchanged at 3.7%

 

The U.S. economy gained 250,000 jobs in October, and unemployment was unchanged at 3.7%, according to figures released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Growth under Donald Trump's policies has slowed down compared to Barack Obama's last years in office. Continued slow wage growth means the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee should pause current plans to raise interest rates.

 

In response to the October job numbers, AFL-CIO Chief Economist William Spriggs tweeted:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last month's biggest job gains were in leisure and hospitality (42,000), health care (36,000), professional and business services (35,000), manufacturing (32,000), construction (30,000), transportation and warehousing (25,000), and mining (5,000). Employment in other major industries—including wholesale trade, retail trade, information, financial activities and government—showed little change over the month.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for teenagers (11.9%) declined. The jobless rates for blacks (6.2%), Hispanics (4.4%), adult men (3.5%), adult women (3.4%), whites (3.3%) and Asians (3.2%) showed little or no change in October.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged in October and accounted for 22.5% of the unemployed.

Sections