Unemployment Rate Rises, but Job Market Keeps Chugging Along – By Michael Rainey (The Fiscal Times) / Nov 4, 2022
Employers added 261,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department announced Friday, surprising analysts who were expecting to see a number about 20% lower. At the same time, the monthly increase was the smallest since late 2020 and below September’s upwardly revised 315,000, indicating some degree of cooling in the labor market.
The unemployment rate went up: Despite the stronger-than-expected results, the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%, up two-tenths of a percentage point from a 50-year low. The separate household survey used to calculate the unemployment rate showed a decrease in the total number of jobs, with employment falling by 328,000. The labor force shrank slightly, too, decreasing by 22,000, with the labor force participation rate slipping from 62.3% to 62.2%.
Average hourly pay rose 0.4% on a monthly basis and 4.7% on an annual basis — a substantial annual increase, but one that is below the 16-year peak of 5.6% recorded in March and below the rate of inflation, leaving workers worse off on average.
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