China News Service, Washington, November 6. Data released by the US Department of Labor on the 6th showed that the US unemployment rate in October fell by 1 percentage point from the previous month to 6.9%.
Economists worry that if the new crown epidemic further intensifies, the momentum of the unemployment rate may slow down.
Data show that in October, the non-agricultural sector jobs in the United States increased by 638,000 from the previous month, which was better than market expectations.
However, the total number of jobs is still 10 million below the level before the new crown pandemic.
Affected by the new crown epidemic, the unemployment rate in the United States soared to 14.7% in April this year, the highest value since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Non-agricultural employment was reduced by 20.5 million, and the number of recruits gradually turned from negative to positive in the following months.
U.S. companies added 906,000 jobs in October.
In terms of specific industries, employment growth in the construction, retail, catering, and hotel industries was particularly strong.
In October, the U.S. government shed 268,000 jobs, of which 147,000 temporary jobs for population census jobs were reduced, and jobs in the education sector were also reduced.
This is the first employment report after the US presidential election in November.
The Associated Press believes that the increase in employment in October indicates that the rebound of the new crown epidemic has temporarily not affected the economic recovery.
However, according to the US Consumer News and Business Channel, Fed Chairman Powell warned on the 5th that the US job market and economic recovery have slowed in recent months, and overall economic activity is still far below the level before the epidemic. Economic prospects "Very uncertain".
Crosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial, believes that the October employment report shows that the US economy is growing steadily, but if the rebound of the new crown epidemic jeopardizes the economic recovery, employment prospects may slow down.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 2 p.m. Eastern time on November 5, the number of new coronary pneumonia infections in the United States has exceeded 9.65 million, and more than 235,000 deaths.
Bloomberg said that economists also worry that the longer the unemployment rate is high, the harder it is for many unemployed to find work.
Employers are usually reluctant to hire people who have been unemployed for several months.
In October, the number of long-term unemployed (unemployed for 27 weeks or more) in the United States increased by 1.15 million to 3.56 million, accounting for one third of the total unemployed.
This is the highest value since the beginning of 2014.
In addition, Swank, chief economist of Grant Thornton, pointed out that the October report reflects that the quality of employment in the United States has deteriorated, and many people may take part-time jobs to make ends meet.
The number of new part-time jobs in the United States in October was 376,000, bringing the total number of part-time jobs to 5.3 million. (Finish)