US economy adds just 12,000 jobs in October

The US economy added 12,000 jobs in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, well below September's downwardly revised 223,000 print and expectations of 113,000.

Last month's non-farm payrolls figure market the weakest level of job growth since December 2020, when 243,000 jobs were lost, as a result of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as strikes at Boeing.

On a sector-by-sector basis, employment continued to trend up in health care and government, while employment declined in manufacturing due to strike activity throughout October.

The unemployment rate, on the other hand, held steady month-on-month at 4.1%, in line with market expectations.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com