Well below the 12-month average monthly gain of 194,000 jobs, nonfarm payroll employment was little changed in October, adding just 12,000 jobs, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job growth in August and September was also revised down in the October report, dropping to 78,000 and 223,000, respectively.
While employment increased in health care (+52,000 jobs) and government (+40,000) over the month of October, manufacturing lost 46,000 jobs. There was also another steep decline in temporary help services (-49,000) — employment in the sector has dropped by 577,000 jobs since its peak in March 2022.
The unemployment rate remained at 4.1% for the month. There were 7.0 million people unemployed, and the labor force participation rate was 62.6%.
7.4 million job openings in September
September’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover report shows a slight decrease in job openings, down to 7.4 million on the last business day of September from 7.9 million in August.
Job openings increased in finance and insurance (+85,000) but decreased in health care and social assistance (-178,000) and accommodation and food services (-102,000).
Hires (5.6 million), quits (3.1 million), layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) changed little in September.
