The US Department of Labor announced Friday (4th) that nonfarm wages in October were 261,000, much higher than the market’s expectations of 200,000, but lower than the previously revised value of 315,000; the unemployment rate rose to 3.7% in October, 3.6% higher than market expectations. Despite the rise in the unemployment rate, non-farm wages are still quite solid and the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy is likely to remain aggressive.
October Non-Farm Payroll Report:
- Non-agricultural occupation declared 261,000, expected 200,000, revised previous value of 315,000
- Unemployment rate at 3.7%, 3.6% expected, the previous value of 3.5%
- Weekly average reported 34.5 hours, predicted 34.5 hours, previous value 34.5 hours
- The average rate of growth in hourly wages was brought back to 4.7%, expected to be 4.7%, the previous value of 5%
- The monthly growth rate of the average hourly wage was 0.4%, the expected 0.3% and the previous value of 0.3%
- The labor force participation rate was brought back to 62.2%, predicted at 62.4% and the previous value was 62.3%
After the release of the report, the futures of the three major US stock indices reduced their earnings and US government bonds 10-year yieldprecipitated to 4.158%,US dollar indexReported 112.38.
It is worth noting that the data for August and September of this year were corrected at the same time: the number of new non-farm jobs in August was revised down from 315,000 to 292,000, the number of new non-farm jobs in September it was revised from 263,000 to 292,000 to 315,000, the revised increase in August and September combined was 29,000 higher than previously reported.
Last month’s nonfarm payroll report showed that demand for labor remained strong despite rapidly rising interest rates and an increasingly bleak economic outlook. Furthermore, layoffs, while increasing, remain at historic lows as the rush to fill millions of vacancies is driving rapid wage increases.
The strong employment report, while supporting consumer spending which is the engine of the economy, has also made it harder for the Fed to cool inflation, suggesting the central bank will tighten monetary policy firmly in the coming months.
The main drivers of this increase in employment were health, professional and technical services. Healthcare added 53,000 jobs last month, professional and technical services added 43,000 jobs, manufacturing industry added 32,000 jobs, social care added 19,000 jobs, sales wholesale added 15,000 jobs and leisure AND the hotel industry added 35,000 jobs, the transportation and warehouse industry added 8,000 jobs and the finance industry added 3,000 jobs .
Amy Glaser, senior president of corporate operations at Human Resources and Recruiting, said the demand for jobs remains strong, and while everyone expects the job market to cool down at some point, it hasn’t been seen so far. Glaser also highlighted the strong demand for labor in sectors most affected by the pandemic, such as warehouses, retail and catering.
Continuously updated …
