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The U.S. added 12,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in October as the unemployment rate remained unchanged, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday.
Economists expected 110,000 jobs to be added in October, far lower than the initially reported 254,000 job gain in September, and that the unemployment rate would hold steady at 4.1%. Previously reported job gains for August and September were revised down by 81,000 and 31,000, respectively, following a trend under the Biden-Harris administration of overestimating employment growth in initial estimates, with the cumulative number of new jobs reported in 2023 roughly 1.3 million less than previously thought.
The economy is one of the top issues for voters in the upcoming presidential election, with a Gallup poll published on Oct. 9 finding 52% of voters consider candidates’ positions on the issue “extremely important.” Moreover, voters trust former President Donald Trump to handle the economy more than Vice President Harris, with 54% of registered voters trusting Trump to deal with the economy while just 45% favor Harris.
Unemployment has risen substantially since April 2023, when it sat at just 3.4%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The increase in unemployment was one of the factors that prompted the Federal Reserve to cut the federal funds by 0.5% in September — which lowers the cost of borrowing and potentially bolsters economic growth and hiring.
Prior to September’s rate cut, the Fed had kept its target range at a 23-year high of 5.25% and 5.50% for eight straight meetings.
Data released Wednesday showed U.S. economic growth was weaker than expected at 2.8% in the third quarter of 2024, 0.2% below economist expectations.
Prior to the September cut, the FOMC held its target federal funds rate at a 23-year high of 5.25% and 5.50% for eight straight meetings in an effort to combat runaway inflation, which rose from 1.4% when President Joe Biden took office up to roughly 9% in June 2022. The inflation rate sat at 2.4% as of September.
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