Stinger
11-05-2004, 09:27 AM
October job gains strongest in seven months
WASHINGTON The number of new jobs soared in October by the highest amount in seven months, the government said Friday, helped by a surge in construction as hurricane-racked areas in the Southeast were rebuilt.
A surprisingly strong 337,000 jobs were added to payrolls last month twice the 169,000-job growth that economists had forecast and the strongest since March, when 353,000 jobs were created, the Labor Department said.
The unemployment rate edged up to 5.5% from 5.4% in September, but that was because more people were looking for jobs, a potentially hopeful sign. Economists had expected the jobless rate to hold steady at 5.4%. Not only was October strong, but the number of jobs created in the two prior months was revised up to 139,000 in September fromf 96,000 and to 198,000 in August from 128,000.
"It looks like the job situation is improving, and that this will support consumer spending going into the holidays and offset some of the drag caused by high oil prices this year," said economist Gary Thayer of A.G. Edwards & Sons.
The data pointing to revival in the labor market come just before Federal Reserve policymakers, meeting Wednesday, are expected to nudge short-term interest rates up for a fourth time this year, by a quarter percentage point, lifting their target for the federal funds rate to 2%. The fed funds rate is what banks charge each other for overnight loans.
"It should empower the Fed to clearly do something next week and probably raises the odds that they will do something in December," said Robert MacIntosh, chief economist with Eaton Vance Management.
Kathleen Utgoff, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, noted that a 71,000 addition in construction jobs biggest since March 2000 "reflected rebuilding and cleanup activity in the Southeast following the four hurricanes that struck the U.S. in August and September."
October's 300,000-plus payroll increase isn't sustainable in the coming months, says David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's. But monthly increases of 200,000 are realistic through the end of the year.
The report on new hiring is good news for President Bush as he prepares for a second term. A generally weak job market plagued his campaign for re-election.
Employers have added about 2.2 million jobs since August 2003.
Some details in the report showed the jobs market, while clearly on the upswing, still bumpy.
Manufacturing continues to struggle it was the only major sector to lose jobs last month with employment falling by 5,000. That followed a decline of 14,000 in September.
The number of people who held more than one job rose 519,000 to 8 million. The average time for the unemployed to find a job was 19.6 weeks, same as in September.
The jobless rate for blacks jumped to 10.7% last month, from 10.3% in September. The rate for Hispanics fell to 6.7% from 7.1%. The rate for whites held at 4.7%.
The jobless rate for teenagers grew to 17.2% from 16.6%.
Link (http://http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2004-11-05-jobs_x.htm)
WASHINGTON The number of new jobs soared in October by the highest amount in seven months, the government said Friday, helped by a surge in construction as hurricane-racked areas in the Southeast were rebuilt.
A surprisingly strong 337,000 jobs were added to payrolls last month twice the 169,000-job growth that economists had forecast and the strongest since March, when 353,000 jobs were created, the Labor Department said.
The unemployment rate edged up to 5.5% from 5.4% in September, but that was because more people were looking for jobs, a potentially hopeful sign. Economists had expected the jobless rate to hold steady at 5.4%. Not only was October strong, but the number of jobs created in the two prior months was revised up to 139,000 in September fromf 96,000 and to 198,000 in August from 128,000.
"It looks like the job situation is improving, and that this will support consumer spending going into the holidays and offset some of the drag caused by high oil prices this year," said economist Gary Thayer of A.G. Edwards & Sons.
The data pointing to revival in the labor market come just before Federal Reserve policymakers, meeting Wednesday, are expected to nudge short-term interest rates up for a fourth time this year, by a quarter percentage point, lifting their target for the federal funds rate to 2%. The fed funds rate is what banks charge each other for overnight loans.
"It should empower the Fed to clearly do something next week and probably raises the odds that they will do something in December," said Robert MacIntosh, chief economist with Eaton Vance Management.
Kathleen Utgoff, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, noted that a 71,000 addition in construction jobs biggest since March 2000 "reflected rebuilding and cleanup activity in the Southeast following the four hurricanes that struck the U.S. in August and September."
October's 300,000-plus payroll increase isn't sustainable in the coming months, says David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's. But monthly increases of 200,000 are realistic through the end of the year.
The report on new hiring is good news for President Bush as he prepares for a second term. A generally weak job market plagued his campaign for re-election.
Employers have added about 2.2 million jobs since August 2003.
Some details in the report showed the jobs market, while clearly on the upswing, still bumpy.
Manufacturing continues to struggle it was the only major sector to lose jobs last month with employment falling by 5,000. That followed a decline of 14,000 in September.
The number of people who held more than one job rose 519,000 to 8 million. The average time for the unemployed to find a job was 19.6 weeks, same as in September.
The jobless rate for blacks jumped to 10.7% last month, from 10.3% in September. The rate for Hispanics fell to 6.7% from 7.1%. The rate for whites held at 4.7%.
The jobless rate for teenagers grew to 17.2% from 16.6%.
Link (http://http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2004-11-05-jobs_x.htm)