US hiring slowed significantly last month, in what marked the weakest jobs growth reported under President Joe Biden.
Friday’s downbeat employment update, released just days before the US election, revealed just 12,000 non-farming jobs were added in October, down from 223,000 a month earlier.
This marked the slowest rate of growth since late 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as analysts blamed the impact of hurricanes and strike action at Boeing.
While hiring slowed, America’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1pc.
The closely watched report will be sure to draw scrutiny from both presidential candidates before next Thursday’s election, as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump battle to convince voters of their ability to improve the economy.
Rubeela Farooqi, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said the slowdown in hiring “will likely weigh on how people view economic conditions”.
The latest figures show the slowest rate of US jobs growth since President Biden took office at the start of January 2021.
Responding to the report, President Biden said hiring is expected to rebound in November as the country’s rebuilding efforts following the hurricane continue.
He said: “America’s economy remains strong, with 16m jobs created since I took office, including an average 180,000 jobs created each month over the last year – more than the year before the pandemic.”
However, Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo, said the latest figures show how the US labour market is still “struggling to find its footing”.
The figures come after Hurricane Helene left 220 people dead and millions without power in late September, followed by Hurricane Milton in Florida a week later.
Meanwhile, a total of 41,400 new US workers went on strike last month when the survey was conducted.
This included walk-outs at Boeing, where union officials are demanding a record 40pc pay rise for the planemaker’s 32,000 employees.
Jared Bernstein, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, earlier this week said that the collective impact of the hurricanes and strike action could slash job growth by up to 100,000 positions.