With Wall Street expecting the first double-digit payrolls report since May, largely as a result of over 40K GM jobs not accounted for due to the strike, and with some whispers even hinting at a negative print, moments ago the BLS surprised once again, reporting that in October, the US added 128K jobs, a huge beat to the 85K expected, with the September payrolls report revised sharply higher to 180K from 136K.
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised up by 51,000 from +168,000 to +219,000, and the change for September was revised up by 44,000 from +136,000 to +180,000. With these revisions, employment gains in August and September combined were 95,000 more than previously reported. After revisions, job gains have averaged 176,000 over the last 3 months.
The report includes a strike-driven 41,600 decline in automaker payrolls and 20,000 temporary census workers leaving their jobs. The result of the strike led to a 36K drop in manufacturing jobs, the biggest drop since 2009, although a similar rebound is expected next month now that the GM strike is over.
The unemployment rate rose modestly to 3.6% from a half-century low of 3.5%, and in line with expectations, while the unemployment rate for blacks dropped to a fresh all time lows.
The participation rate, or share of working-age people in the labor force, increased to 63.3% as more Americans reentered the workforce. The U-6 underemployment rate ticked up to 7% from the lowest since 2000; this number reflects part-time workers who’d prefer a full-time position and those who aren’t actively looking. – READ MORE