The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday the U.S. economy created 150,000 jobs in October, well off the average of 258,000 monthly jobs created over the past 12 months. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
The U.S. economy added 150,00 jobs in October while unemployment mostly held steady, according to data shared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
October’s job creation was well below the average of 258,000 jobs added over the last 12 months. Advertisement
Job growth was driven by increases in healthcare, which added 58,000 jobs and 51,000 new government jobs. Social assistance added 19,000 jobs and there were 23,000 new construction jobs.
Manufacturing jobs decreased by 35,000 largely impacted by the United Auto Workers union strike against the “Big Three” automakers Ford, GM and Stellantis.
A total of 6.5 million people were unemployed with the unemployment rate at 3.9%, little changed from the month prior but up by 0.5% and 849,000 people since recent lows in April.
A seasonally adjusted 217,000 people filed initial unemployment claims for the week ending October 28, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. That compared with 221,000 filing initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 9.
Average hourly pay ticked up a bit in October, rising 7 cents to $34.00. Over the last 12 months average hourly earnings rose 4.1%. Advertisement
The private firm ADP reported this week that wages grew by 5.7% from October 2022, the slowest rate of growth since July 2021.
Other BLS data this week showed 9.6 million U.S. job openings in September.
