Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 638,000 in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total unemployed persons fell 1.5 million to 11.1 million in October. Despite the increase in nonfarm payroll over the month, unemployment still stands at 6.9%.
Large employment increases occurred in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, and construction.
Employment in leisure and hospitality rose by 271,000, with most of the gain occurring in food services and drinking places with a gain of 197,000 jobs. Retail trade added 104,000 jobs in October, with almost one-third of the gain in electronics and appliance stores.
Government employment fell by 268,000 in October. A decrease of 138,000 in federal government was driven by a loss of 147,000 temporary 2020 Census workers. Employment in local government education and state government education fell by 98,000 and 61,000 jobs, respectively.
The civilian labor force participation rate increased to 61.7%. The number of workers on temporary layoff decreased by 1.4 million in to 3.2 million, down considerably from the series high of 18.1 million in April. Workers with permanent job loss was unchanged from the previous month. Workers unemployed less than 5 weeks was also unchanged.
Average hourly earnings rose by 4 cents to $29.50.
Read the BLS release.
