Economy adds 261K jobs in October, unemployment ticks up

The HIll ^ | 11/04/2022 | SYLVAN LANE

[ChicagoConservative27]

The U.S. added 261,000 jobs in October and the unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.7 percent, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.

Economists expected the U.S. to add roughly 190,000 jobs last month and keep the unemployment rate steady at 3.5 percent, according to consensus estimates.

While the overall jobs gain was better than anticipated, the labor market showed other signs of slowing under the weight of high prices, stubborn inflation, rising interest rates and a weakening global economy.

The jobless rate rose in October as 306,000 Americans joined the ranks of the unemployed while labor force participation stayed flat. Wage growth also slowed to annual increase of 4.7 percent, down from 5 percent in September and 5.2 percent in August.

[ChicagoConservative27]

Added jobs but unemployment ticks up???? I am missing something???

[God luvs America]

Yes- what was the participation rate? That’s the biggest determine factor in movement of the unemployment rate.

[nathanbedford]

The lag effect.

As the effect of the Fed's Rate hikes works its way through the economy, various businesses feel the slowdown effect more gradually. Meanwhile, they are rebounding from the Covid lock downs and need employees so they hire in the interim.

Unemployment is always a lagging indicator of rate hikes because those firms that experience tightening lay employees off reluctantly because of the cost of rehiring and retraining. Those who are affected later by rate hikes, layoff later, hence the lag.