According to today’s data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 150,000 in October, and the unemployment rate changed little at 3.9%. Job gains occurred in health care, government, and social assistance. Employment declined in manufacturing due to strike activity.
Household Survey data shows that both the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons, at 6.5 million, changed little in October; however, since hitting lows in April, these measures are up by 0.5 percentage point and 849,000, respectively.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.7%), adult women (3.3%), teenagers (13.2%), whites (3.5%), Blacks (5.8%), Asians (3.1%), and Hispanics (4.8%) showed little change in October. Among the unemployed, the number of those with permanent job loss increased by 164,000 over the month to 1.6 million. The number of persons on temporary layoff changed little at 873,000.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) in October was little changed at 1.3 million. The long-term unemployed accounted for 19.8% of all unemployed persons. Both the labor force participation rate, at 62.7%, and the employment-population ratio, at 60.2%, changed little over the month.
The number of persons employed part-time for economic reasons, at 4.3 million, changed little in October. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part-time because their hours had been reduced or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
The full report can be viewed here.
