US job report complicates election decisions amid slowed job growth

State Employers added very less jobs in October, impacted by hurricanes and worker strikes.

State Employers added 12,000 jobs in October as hiring lost steam. The total was anticipated to be limited not only by two hurricanes in the Southeast but also by several worker strikes. However, the total was much lower than the anticipated level, while job gains for prior months were adjusted significantly, signaling the deterioration in labor conditions.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics is scheduled to release US employees on nonfarm payrolls figures on October 4. Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg(Bloomberg)

The report will, therefore, furnish a last snapshot of the economy only four days before a crucial weekly election and the Federal Reserve policymaker meeting.

But the temporary obstacles will likely complicate it for officials at the Fed to capture the core health of the labour market that economists said. The unemployment rate changed slightly to 4.1%, according to the Labor Department on Friday.

Revised job numbers indicate cooling labor market

Economists cautioned that these temporary factors may obscure the underlying health of the labor market, complicating the Federal Reserve's assessment as it weighs future economic policies.

Job numbers for August and September were sharply revised downwards by a combined 112,000 positions. The Labor Department adjusted August’s figures from an original count of 159,000 to just 78,000, while September’s totals were revised from 254,000 to 223,000.

Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank told CNN, “For the Fed, the most actionable part of the October jobs report is the revisions to August and September data.”

“They confirm that the labor market has cooled, and will reinforce the Fed’s view that there are equal risks to their maximum employment mandate as to their mandate for stable prices.”

Natural disasters had a significant impact on the October employment data

Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which struck the Southeast, are estimated to have reduced employment by 70,000 jobs in the region, according to Oxford Economics. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs estimated a slightly smaller impact, projecting a reduction of between 40,000 and 50,000 jobs.

Ongoing labour strikes at Boeing, alongside smaller work stoppages at Textron and Hilton Hotels, likely suppressed payroll numbers by about 40,000 positions, according to estimates from Nomura, a research firm. Together, the storms and strikes may have reduced job gains by approximately 100,000.