U.S. employers added the most workers in a year, rebounding from September’s slowdown, as people resumed work after hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Labor Department figures showed Friday. The jobless rate fell to the lowest since 2000 while wages stalled.
The report indicates the fallout from the hurricanes, which had depressed the labor market the prior month, largely dissipated in October. Jobs bounced back at restaurants and bars, which added 89,000 workers after a 98,000 drop in September.
Weather-related distortions may make it hard to read too much into the data until the end of the year. Still, economists expect a return to the underlying trend of steady, albeit slower, hiring that’s still enough to keep pushing down the unemployment rate.
The October drop in the jobless rate was due to the number of unemployed workers falling by less than the number of employed. Wages were a weak spot in October, though economists had penciled in a slowdown as low-paid workers at restaurants returned to their jobs, bringing down the average.
Even so, across the country, employers are reluctant to fire staff amid a shortage of qualified workers, while Americans are more upbeat about employment prospects. That bodes well for consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy.
With payroll gains averaging about 162,000 over the past three months, the jobs report broadly provided more evidence the economy is approaching maximum employment, one of the twin goals of the Federal Reserve. President Donald Trump on Thursday named Jerome Powell to lead the Fed, replacing Chair Janet Yellen.
