U.S. Employment Growth Accelerates in October

The monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics surprised nearly everyone Nov. 8, citing an addition of 204,000 jobs in October. The BLS also revised jobs growth for August and September, adding another 60,000 to the total. Thanks in part to inconsistencies in the way furloughed federal-government workers were counted in the establishment and household surveys, the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 7.3%.

While the job gains were welcome news, workforce participation continued to decline with a loss of 0.4% to 62.8%. The number of long-term unemployed, those working part-time for economic reasons and those marginally attached to the labor force were little changed during the month.

Following a pause in September, when it shed 7,100 jobs, foodservice added 29,000 workers in October, matching the average monthly gain of the past 12 months. Foodservice has been one of the fastest-growing employment sectors since the end of the Great Recession. Overall, leisure and hospitality employment jumped by 53,000 jobs during the month.