U.S. Added Just 12,000 Jobs In October As Hurricanes And Labor Strike Impact Final Report Before Election; Unemployment Rate Stays At 4.1%

The final jobs report before the 2024 presidential election showed a muddled picture, with job gains dropping significantly in October amid the disruption from major hurricanes and a Boeing labor strike.

Just 12,000 jobs were added to payrolls, which is below expectations and a drop from the 223,000 added the previous month. The unemployment rate remained essentially unchanged at 4.1%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which gathers the data, cautioned that the weather disasters had an impact on its survey collection.

After a period of job losses, employment in movies and sound recordings rose by 2,600 to 448,000. Employment in broadcasting an among content providers dropped by 3,300 to 333,000. Publishing Jons increased by 3,900 to 926,700.

More to come.