U.S. Seen Adding 65,000 Jobs in October Ahead of Report Due Today
Key Facts
The U.S. employment situation report for October was scheduled for release on Friday, November 6, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, putting employment data at the forefront of the economic calendar. A Reuters poll estimated the economy added 65,000 nonfarm jobs during the month, with the unemployment rate holding at 4.2%. The forecasts follow a gain of 29,000 jobs at U.S. companies in September, when the unemployment rate rose to 4.2% from 4.1% in August. The new report makes the September reading the nearest benchmark for the labor market, with attention focused on both job growth and the unemployment rate. The Federal Reserve held its target interest rate in October in a range of 3.75% to 4%, saying job gains had continued to keep pace with labor force growth and unemployment had changed little.
Employment data take on added importance after the Fed held rates steady in October, following a quarter-percentage-point cut in September to the same range, between 3.75% and 4%. The Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement on October 28 that it had decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.75% to 4%. In September, the committee had decided to cut the target range by a quarter of a percentage point. The upcoming jobs and unemployment data will provide a more recent reading of labor market conditions since the September report, which showed a gain of 29,000 jobs and an increase in unemployment to 4.2%. According to the Reuters poll, the estimate for October is centered on an increase of 65,000 jobs, with unemployment expected to remain at 4.2%.
Labor Department data showed seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims totaled 189,000 in the week ended October 31, down 6,000 from the previous week's revised level. The department had raised the prior week's reading to 195,000 from 194,000. The four-week moving average also fell to 194,750, down 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 197,000. The prior average reading had been revised up to 197,000 from 196,750. The weekly figures provide successive indicators of claims for benefits as investors await the October report on jobs and unemployment.
The U.S. data calendar after the jobs report includes the October consumer price index. The Bureau of Labor Statistics had scheduled the report for Tuesday, November 10, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The inflation release comes four days after the scheduled employment situation report. The jobs report was scheduled for November 6 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. These dates put the labor market report first in the sequence of upcoming releases, followed by the consumer price report.