The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their monthly overview of the U.S. employment situation, and the data for October shows solid growth. In this month's report, the BLS also adjusted September and August’s numbers for the better. The labor department jobs report examines a range of U.S. jobs data to gauge the overall health of the U.S. economy, specifically the number of jobs added, the unemployment rate, and what industries are hiring now.
The October jobs report shows a welcome improvement in the labor market, beating expectations. The unemployment rate declined .2 percentage points to 4.6%, and total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 531,000. The number of unemployed people decreased to 7.4 million, down from 7.7 million in September but still up from 5.8 million in February 2020 before the pandemic.
Here are some other key statistics from the labor department jobs report:
October brought job gains for most sectors, with the highest gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and manufacturing. Education continued to fall, but at a much lower rate than September. Here’s how industries were impacted in October:
Overall, the labor department’s October report and its August and September adjustments show a positive trend for the economy. However, there is still much ground to recover before we’re back to pre-pandemic levels.
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