Unemployment Rate Dips to 6-Year Low in October

Nonfarm payrolls were reported as 214,000, versus a Bloomberg consensus estimate of 240,000. This was down from readings in September of 256,000 and 203,000 in August. The October reading was largely in line with the average monthly gain of the past 12 months of 222,000.

The largest job growth occurred in food services and drinking places, retail trade and health care. Employment in the following industries showed little change over the month: logging, mining, wholesale trade, information, financial activities and government.

Weekly jobless claims for the November 1 week fell by 10,000 to 278,000. This marks the seventh time in eight weeks that the four-week moving average has dropped. It currently reads at 279,000. Continuing claims also dropped to a 14-year low of 2.348 million.

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Wednesday’s report from ADP projected that private sector employment increased by 230,000 jobs in October. The ADP National Employment Report comes from ADP’s actual payroll data, and it measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally adjusted basis. Bloomberg expected 230,000 as well.

The ADP report suggested that small businesses added 102,000 jobs in October, followed by a gain of 122,000 for medium businesses and a gain of 5,000 from large businesses. Service-providing employment rose by 181,000 jobs in October, up from 176,000 in September. Expansion in trade, transportation and utilities grew by 47,000, versus September’s 37,000.

ADP payroll data represent 411,000 U.S. clients employing nearly 24 million workers in the United States. The September total of jobs added was revised from 213,000 to 225,000.

TrimTabs Investment Research estimated that the U.S. economy added a whopping 314,000 jobs in October. This would be up from 206,000 in September, making employment growth last month the highest since May 2010, when census-related hiring skewed the data. The TrimTabs data also showed that the economy has created an average of 215,000 jobs per month this year.

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The Labor Department said the unemployment rate came in at 5.8%, against a consensus estimate of 5.9%, in line with September’s rate. October’s figure is the lowest unemployment rate since July 2008.

Hourly earnings were recorded as a 0.1% increase, compared to the Bloomberg estimate of 0.2%. Private payrolls came in below estimates at 209,000.