NATIONAL REPORT—Employment rose by 128,000 in October, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 3.6%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the month, the number of unemployed persons decreased by 275,000 to 5.8 million.
Notable job gains occurred in food services and drinking places, social assistance and financial activities. Within manufacturing, employment in motor vehicles and parts decreased due to strike activity. Federal government employment was down, reflecting a drop in the number of temporary jobs for the 2020 Census.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.2%), adult women (3.2%), teenagers (12.3%), Whites (3.2%), Blacks (5.4%), Asians (2.9%), and Hispanics (4.1%) showed little or no change in October.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 1.3 million in October and accounted for 21.5% of the unemployed.
The labor force participation rate was little changed at 63.3% in October, and the employment-population ratio held at 61%. Both measures were up by 0.4 percentage point over the year.