The US labor market shrugged off election uncertainty and continued to add jobs in October. Despite the waning effects of fiscal stimulus and rising COVID-19 cases, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy added 638,000 jobs, ahead of Bloomberg survey estimates calling for 580,000. The headline number was depressed by a 268,000 drop in government employment, including 147,000 temporary census workers. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell from 7.9% to 6.9% despite a rise in the labor force participation rate, a reversal of the dynamic we saw in September when unemployment fell while the labor force participation also declined.
READ MORE