More Americans worked part time for economic reasons in October even as U.S. payrolls expanded by 165,000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported, leaving the monthly labor picture mixed.
The household survey put the group at 4.840 million people, up 339,000 from September. BLS counts workers in this category when they want full-time hours but have had their schedules cut or cannot find full-time positions.
Payrolls grew faster than the 48,000 average monthly gain over the previous 12 months. Unemployment fell by 41,000 to 7.068 million people, lowering the rate to 4.1% from 4.2%. Labor force participation increased 0.1 percentage point to 61.9%.
Professional and business services led industry hiring with 70,000 additional jobs, compared with an average of 15,000 monthly gains in the previous year. Health care added 42,000; transportation and warehousing, 25,000; and manufacturing, 19,000. Health care had averaged 31,000 monthly gains over that period.
The BLS revised its August estimate to 186,000 from 133,000 and September’s to 60,000 from 29,000, lifting the two-month total by 84,000. EconoTimes previously covered the October payroll gain and revisions.
Average hourly earnings for private nonfarm payroll employees rose 14 cents, or 0.4%, to $38 in October and were up 3.1% over 12 months. The average workweek held at 34.4 hours.
Reuters reported that economists in its poll expected 65,000 jobs, while The Washington Post separately reported expectations of about 59,000.
The monthly report draws on two surveys: employers provide payroll information, while a household survey measures unemployment and other labor force data. A person with several payroll jobs is counted at each job in the employer survey; the household survey counts that person once.
The next BLS Employment Situation report, covering November, is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
