Thanks for joining us. Here are five key takeaways from the US employment report for October, released Friday:
- Hiring last month advanced at the slowest pace since 2020. Nonfarm payrolls increased 12,000 last month, following a downward revision to the prior two months. The unemployment rate held at 4.1% and hourly earnings remained firm
- Importantly, the BLS said the hurricanes likely affected payrolls in some industries, but said it is not possible to quantify the net effect on the monthly change in national employment, hours or earnings estimates
- The BLS also noted the collection rate for the survey of businesses that informs those statistics was “well below average”
- Hiring increased in health care and government, but employment in other industries was largely flat or negative. Sectors including retail trade, transportation and warehousing, and leisure and hospitality all declined — likely a reflection of weather-related disruptions; manufacturing payrolls employment fell 46,000, the biggest drop since April 2020 and largely reflecting strike activity, including by 33,000 Boeing workers
- Treasuries, which just capped their worst monthly decline in about two years, climbed after the release, with two-year yields down about 8 basis points as of 9:02 a.m. in New York. Stock futures also rose, a day after the biggest slump in almost two months amid some earnings disappointments. S&P 500 contracts were up 0.5%. The dollar was little changed.