US Adds More Jobs In October, Unemployment Rate Still Rises

The unemployment rate in the US rose to 3.7 percent in October, even as the number of non-farm jobs increased by 2,61,000 to 6.1 million.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said notable job gains occurred in health care, professional and technical services and manufacturing.

Professional and technical services added 43,000 jobs in October. Manufacturing added 32,000 jobs, mostly in durable goods industries (over 23,000).

"Employment continued to trend up in management and technical consulting services ( over 7,000), architectural and engineering services( over 7,000), and scientific research and development services ( over 5,000)," the news release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

The update on job additions in the tech companies comes amid large scale firing of employees across startups and big tech companies.

Monthly job growth in professional and technical services has, however, averaged 41,000 in 2022, lower than 53,000 per month in 2021.

"The unemployment rate has been in a narrow range of 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent since March," the news release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult women rose 3.4 percent in October while for Whites the increase was 3.2 percent.

The jobless rate for adult men was 3.3 percent. It was a high 11 percent for teenagers.

The unemployment rate for blacks (5.9 percent), Asians (2.9 percent), and Hispanics (4.2 percent) showed little or no change in October.

The New York Times reported that economists have been expecting the labour market to cool as higher interest rates make it more difficult for businesses to grow. "So far, however, hiring has been remarkably resilient even as other aspects of the economy, like the housing market, have slumped," the daily said.

The US Federal Reserve on November 3 hiked interest rates as it fights inflation. It raised the key policy rate by 75 basis points to over a decade high at 3.75-4.0 per cent. This is the fourth consecutive hike.