The latest jobs report for October 2024 revealed a weaker employment growth across various industries in the U.S. economy. The health care and social assistance sector saw the most significant increase, adding 51,300 new positions. When private education is combined with this sector, the growth reaches 57,000 jobs. The government sector also experienced a notable increase, with 40,000 new jobs added.
In addition to these gains, the wholesale trade and construction industries also saw growth, adding 10,400 and 8,000 jobs, respectively. However, other sectors faced significant losses. Professional and business services reported a decline of 47,000 jobs, while manufacturing saw a decrease of 46,000 jobs.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics attributed the decline in manufacturing jobs to strike activity, particularly citing Boeing’s machinist strike, which has been ongoing for over seven weeks. However, a recent sweetened contract offer from Boeing to the union may help resolve the strike.
Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter’s chief economist, noted that while the report reflects the impact of strikes and natural disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it also indicates an ongoing labor market slowdown over the past two years. She emphasized that the primary issue in the labor market is still constrained monetary policy, rather than temporary factors like strikes and storms.
Areas like leisure and hospitality, which previously showed significant employment growth in the September report, and retail trade were among the sectors that experienced declines in October. Leisure and hospitality saw a decrease of 4,000 jobs, while retail trade had an even larger decline of 6,400 jobs. These trends highlight the mixed nature of job opportunities in various industries amid broader economic conditions.
