The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a disappointing jobs report for October, showing only 12,000 jobs added to the economy, significantly lower than the expected 100,000. This marks the smallest gain since December 2020. The report also noted a downward revision for August and September, with the actual jobs added in those months being much lower than initially estimated.
The impact of hurricanes and a Boeing strike were cited as contributors to the low job numbers. Sectors that saw an increase in employment included health care and government, while manufacturing and temporary help services experienced declines.
The unemployment rate for October was reported at 4.1%, with an estimated 7 million people unemployed. This is higher than the previous year when the jobless rate was 3.8% and the number of unemployed individuals was 6.4 million.
The Trump campaign quickly seized on the jobs report, with national press secretary Karoline Leavitt blaming Vice President Kamala Harris for the economic downturn. Senior advisor Jason Miller called the report a "disaster" for Harris and criticized the low job creation numbers.
Overall, the jobs report for October paints a grim picture of the U.S. economy, with disappointing job growth and downward revisions for previous months. The impact of external factors such as hurricanes and strikes, in addition to ongoing economic challenges, suggests a need for further analysis and potentially corrective action to improve the job market moving forward.