Labor Market Cools Off

The nation's employers scaled back their hiring in October, adding a modest but still decent 150,000 jobs, a sign that the labor market remains resilient despite economic uncertainties and high interest rates that have made borrowing much costlier for companies and consumers. Last month's job growth, though down sharply from a robust 297,000 gain in September, was solid enough to suggest that many companies still want to hire and that the economy remains sturdy, per the AP. The unemployment rate rose from 3.8% to 3.9% in October.

Analysts had predicted a gain of about 170,000, notes CNBC, and the lesser number could ease pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise rates. Dow futures rose about 100 points in the immediate wake of the report. It comes as the Fed is assessing incoming economic data to determine whether to leave its key interest rate unchanged, as it did this week, or to raise it again in its drive to curb inflation. In September, consumer prices rose 3.7% from a year earlier, down drastically from a year-over-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022 but still well above the Fed's 2% target level. The AP notes that the United Auto Workers' strikes against Detroit's automakers likely shrank October's job gain by at least 30,000, economists say.

(More unemployment rate stories.)