US economy adds fewer jobs than expected in October

The US economy added fewer jobs than expected in October, according to data released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Non-farm payrolls rose by 150,000 last month, coming in below expectations for a 180,000 jump. September’s figure was revised down to 297,000 from 336,000.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% from 3.8, versus expectations for it to be unchanged.

The data showed that employment in manufacturing fell by 35,000 in October, reflecting a 33,000 in motor vehicles and parts largely due to strike activity.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% on the month in October, a touch below expectations for 0.3% growth. On the year, earnings grew 4.1%, coming in 0.1 percentage point above expectations.

Andrew Hunter, deputy chief US economist at Capital Economic, said the muted gain in non-farm payrolls was another sign that the economy’s strength in the third quarter is likely to unwind in the fourth.

He said the strongest argument for the Fed to abandon its tightening bias is that wage growth continues to slow.

"The decline in the job quits rate continues to suggest it will drop below 4% soon. Overall, we suspect the softening in labour market conditions has much further to run and still expect the Fed to be cutting interest rates again in the first half of next year," Hunter said.