The U.S. economy added only 12,000 jobs in October, falling far short of the projected 106,000 jobs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Despite the weak job growth, the unemployment rate met expectations, holding steady at 4.1%. Economists anticipated a slowdown in job creation due to the disruption from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which impacted parts of the southeast in late September and early October. “October data from the household and establishment surveys are the first collected since Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck the United States,” noted the BLS in a release. “These hurricanes caused severe damage in the southeast portion of the country.”
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su attributed the lower-than-expected job numbers to these natural disasters, explaining to Business Insider, “Businesses in affected areas, like restaurants or retail stores in North Carolina, likely held back on hiring in light of the holiday season and storm recovery efforts.”
BLS data showed 512,000 workers in nonfarm industries missed work in October due to extreme weather—significantly above the October average of 63,000 from the previous two decades. Alongside the hurricanes, labor strikes also played a role, with 44,000 workers from sectors like hotels and aerospace on strike during the survey period.
These factors may influence the Federal Reserve’s assessment of the jobs report as it considers upcoming interest rate decisions. “The Fed will likely view October’s noisy jobs report with caution and focus on the broader labor data, which still suggests a managed slowdown in job growth,” noted Lydia Boussour, senior economist at EY-Parthenon.
ZipRecruiter Chief Economist Julia Pollak told Business Insider she wasn’t surprised by the numbers given the impact of the hurricanes and labor strikes but noted, “This isn’t just a one-off. It reflects an ongoing slowdown we’ve seen in the labor market over the past two years, with job growth increasingly concentrated in fewer sectors.”
The mixed signals from the October report may complicate the Fed’s interest-rate strategy moving into next year. Shortly after the report, market expectations leaned toward a 25-basis-point rate cut in November, following a 50-basis-point cut in September.
This latest report is also the last employment data release before the presidential election on Tuesday. According to an October AP-NORC poll, 43% of registered voters said they “trust” Kamala Harris on jobs and unemployment, while 41% expressed trust in Donald Trump on the same issues.