US Nonfarm Payroll Little Changed in October; Unemployment Flat at 4.1%

On Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that total nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in October, adding only 12,000 jobs. This follows an average monthly gain of 194,000 over the prior 12 months.

BLS notes that October data are the first collected since Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck the United States (see original source for detail).

In October, job growth occurred in the following sectors:

• Health care added 52,000 jobs, in line with the average monthly gain of 58,000 over the prior 12 months.
• Employment in government continued its upward trend, adding 40,000 positions—similar to the average monthly gain of 43,000 over the prior 12 months.
• Employment in construction changed little, adding only 8,000 jobs. The industry had added an average of 20,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months. Over the month, nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 14,000 jobs

Those gains were offset by the following losses:

• Within professional and business services, employment in temporary help services lost 49,000 jobs. BLS notes that temporary help services employment has decreased by 577,000 since reaching a peak in March 2022.
• Manufacturing employment decreased by 46,000 in October, reflecting a decline of 44,000 in transportation equipment manufacturing that was largely due to strike activity.

Employment showed little change over the month in 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.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1% in October, and the number of unemployed people was little changed at 7.0 million. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.8%, and the number of unemployed people was 6.4 million.

Revisions

Monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimate and from recalculations of seasonal factors. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised down by 81,000—from a gain of 159,000 to 78,000—and the change for September was revised down by 31,000—from a gain of 254,000 to 223,000. With these revisions, employment in August and September combined is 112,000 lower than previously reported.