The US economy continues to produce more jobs despite being close to full employment. The unemployment rate has remained at or under 4% since April 2018 and the underemployment rate has been falling in trend terms. The latest employment report indicates the US economy is still producing jobs and luring people back in the workforce.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy created an additional 128,000 jobs in the non-farm sector in October, significantly fewer than September’s revised increase of 180,000 but more than the 90,000 increase which had been expected. Employment figures for August and September were also revised up by a total of 95,000.
The unemployment rate increased from September’s rate of 3.5% to 3.6% in October as the total number of unemployed increased by 86,000 to 5.855 million while the total number of people who are either employed or looking for work increased by 327,000 to 164.365 million.
According to NAB currency strategist Rodrigo Catril, the report was a ”good one, allaying fears of potential weakness emanating from US-China trade tensions and its impact on the US manufacturing sector.” He pointed to the strike by GM workers and other factors as having temporary effect on the employment figures and noted the increase in the participation rate as another factor which raised October’s unemployment rate.
