The October jobs report came in much weaker than expected, and employment growth across industries painted a mixed picture for the US economy.
The largest contribution last month came from health care and social assistance, with 51,300 new jobs added in that area, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If private education was included in the health care group, as some economists do, this category would have seen greater growth at 57,000.
The government achieved the second highest gains in this period, as it saw jobs increase by 40,000 jobs. This is close to the group's average monthly earnings of about $43,000 in the previous 12 months.
Meanwhile, wholesale trade and construction also saw some gains, recording growth of 10,400 and 8,000 respectively.
But other industries recorded huge losses. Professional and business services led the way, posting declines of 47,000. Manufacturing was right behind this category, down 46,000.
Notably, the Bureau of Labor Statistics cited strike activity as a driver of declines in the manufacturing sector. The Boeing workers' strike has been going on for more than seven weeks. But on Thursday, Boeing and the union reached an improved contract offer that will be voted on on Monday.
Although this report “largely” reflects the impacts of the strike and storms like Hurricanes Helen and Milton, it is not necessarily a “blip,” said Julia Pollack, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.
“It's very consistent with the big picture and the continued slowdown in the job market that we've seen over the last couple of years,” she told CNBC. “The main issue in the labor market is still restrictive monetary policy, not strikes and storms, and that's actually kind of the consistent narrative that we've seen.”
Leisure and hospitality, the leader in employment growth in the September report, and retail trade were other major areas marred by declines. The former contracted by 4,000 jobs, while the latter contracted even more at 6,400 jobs.
