According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, total nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in October (+12,000), and the unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent. Notably, employment continued to trend up in health care and government, while temporary help services lost jobs. Employment in manufacturing declined due to strike activity. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported these findings based on two monthly surveys: the household survey, which assesses labour force status, including unemployment by demographic characteristics, and the establishment survey, which measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry.

Household Survey Data

In October, the U.S. labour market showed minimal change in key indicators compared to the previous month. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, with 7.0 million people unemployed, up from 6.4 million a year earlier. Among demographic groups, unemployment rates showed little or no change, with adult men at 3.9%, adult women at 3.6%, teenagers at 13.8%, Whites at 3.8%, Blacks at 5.7%, Asians at 3.9%, and Hispanics at 5.1%. The number of permanent job losers edged up to 1.8 million, while the number on temporary layoff remained at 846,000.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 1.6 million in October, up from 1.3 million a year earlier, comprising 22.9% of all unemployed people. The labour force participation rate remained stable at 62.6%, and the employment-population ratio held at 60.0%. The number of people employed part-time for economic reasons was 4.6 million, and 5.7 million people not in the labour force expressed a desire for employment but were not actively seeking work. Of these, 1.6 million were marginally attached to the labour force, with the number of discouraged workers remaining little changed at 379,000.

Establishment Survey Data

In October, total nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged, adding just 12,000 jobs, following an average monthly gain of 194,000 over the prior 12 months. Job growth continued in health care, which added 52,000 jobs, close to its 12-month average of 58,000, with gains in ambulatory health care services (+36,000) and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000). Government employment also rose by 40,000, similar to its monthly average of 43,000, with increases in state government employment (+18,000).

Within professional and business services, employment in temporary help services fell by 49,000 and has decreased by 577,000 since its March 2022 peak. Manufacturing employment dropped by 46,000 due to a decline of 44,000 in transportation equipment manufacturing, largely attributed to strike activity. Construction employment changed little, adding 8,000 jobs, with non-residential specialty trade contractors adding 14,000 jobs.

Other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; leisure and hospitality; and other services, showed little change in employment. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 0.4%, or 13 cents, to $35.46. Earnings for private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 0.4%, or 12 cents, to $30.48.

The average workweek for all employees held steady at 34.3 hours, while in manufacturing it remained nearly unchanged at 39.9 hours, with overtime decreasing slightly to 2.8 hours. Revisions to previous data reduced August’s employment increase from +159,000 to +78,000 and September’s from +254,000 to +223,000, making total employment 112,000 lower than initially reported. These revisions result from additional data from businesses and recalculated seasonal factors.

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