October Surprise: New Jobs Report Shows Best Employment Numbers Since 1950

The U.S. job market snapped back in October, with nonfarm payrolls rising more than expected while the unemployment rate fell to 4.6%, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate drop came with the labor force participation rate holding steady at 61.6%, still 1.7 percentage points below its February 2020 level before the pandemic declaration. That represents just shy of 3 million fewer Americans considered part of the workforce and is reflective of ongoing concerns about staffing levels.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 531,000 for the month, compared with the Dow Jones estimate of 450,000. The jobless rate had been expected to edge down to 4.7%. Private payrolls were even stronger, rising 604,000 as a loss of 73,000 government jobs pulled down the headline number. October’s gains represented a sharp pickup from September, which gained 312,000 jobs after the initial Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate of 194,000 saw a substantial upward trend in Friday’s report.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen weighed in on the report with a Twitter thread Friday afternoon in which she said the administration’s aggressive fiscal policies that have pumped in more than $5 trillion to the economy helped stave off more dire consequences from the pandemic.

This morning we received a very welcome jobs report – 531k jobs added – and in my view, there are two key takeaways:

— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) November 5, 2021

Two:  Bold fiscal policy works. A rebound like this was never a foregone conclusion. When our administration took office back in January, there was a real risk that our economy was going to slip into a prolonged recession. Now our recovery is outpacing other wealthy nations’.

— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) November 5, 2021

Now we have a chance to apply this lesson to a new set of challenges: The American Rescue Plan ensured America would recover from the pandemic. The Build Back Better package making its way through Congress will ensure America thrives in a post-pandemic world.

— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) November 5, 2021

Even with the rebound, the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of households in October showed job holders rising by 359,000, leaving the employment level about 4.7 million below its pre-pandemic level. A separate measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons fell to 8.3% from 8.5%. That rate was 7% before the pandemic.

We laid the foundation for the progress we’re seeing today with my American Rescue Plan.

It put money in working families’ pockets, helped keep small businesses going, and vaccinated millions.

We're moving in the right direction, now it's time to build back better. pic.twitter.com/YMea8qIa4n

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New England Sees Surge in COVID Cases Despite High Vaccination Rates

— President Biden (@POTUS) November 5, 2021

Since adding more than a million jobs in July, the labor market had slowed sharply through the rest of the summer, with sizeable letdowns in August and September as economists greatly overestimated growth in both months. But revisions showed that the numbers for those months weren’t quite as dismal. Along with the boost from September’s initial count, August’s final reading came up another 117,000 to 483,000.

.@POTUS 🇺🇸BREAKING: #Unemployment decreased so much, the last time it happened was in 1950!

531,000 NEW JOBS.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT BIDEN! #financialreport #BREAKING #BidenHarris #BidensAmerica #BuildBackBetter

— Debra Messing✍🏻 (@DebraMessing) November 5, 2021