Friday November 5 8:43 AM ET
Jobless Rate Dips To Nearly 30-Year Low
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a nearly 30-year low in October as hiring rebounded from weakness caused by Hurricane Floyd, the government said Friday in a report that will be weighed heavily in the Federal Reserve's interest-rate deliberations.
The jobless rate dipped to 4.1 percent last month, the lowest since 3.9 percent in January 1970, from 4.2 percent in September. Meanwhile, the number of workers on U.S. payrolls rose by 310,000 in October after revised job growth of 41,000 in September. Labor had initially estimated that September payrolls fell by 8,000.
U.S. economists in a Reuters survey had expected October payrolls to grow by 313,000 and the unemployment rate to stay steady at 4.2 percent.
Fed officials gather on Nov. 16 to decide whether to boost borrowing costs for a third time this year. Analysts have said the decision is likely to be a close call. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has made clear he is keeping a close eye on the labor market for possible signs of inflationary pressures.
The drop in the unemployment rate indicated further tightening in the already very strong job market. However, the pace of monthly payroll growth over the past two months, averaging 176,000, was a bit slower than the average trend of around 200,000 over the previous six months.
In one sign that may help calm some fears about wage inflation, average hourly earnings growth in October was modest, up only 0.1 percent to $13.37 from $13.36 in September. Economists in the Reuters poll had projected an average hourly earnings gain of 0.3 percent. Hourly earnings were up 3.6 percent in the year ended in October.
Jobless Rate Dips To Nearly 30-Year Low
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a nearly 30-year low in October as hiring rebounded from weakness caused by Hurricane Floyd, the government said Friday in a report that will be weighed heavily in the Federal Reserve's interest-rate deliberations.
The jobless rate dipped to 4.1 percent last month, the lowest since 3.9 percent in January 1970, from 4.2 percent in September. Meanwhile, the number of workers on U.S. payrolls rose by 310,000 in October after revised job growth of 41,000 in September. Labor had initially estimated that September payrolls fell by 8,000.
U.S. economists in a Reuters survey had expected October payrolls to grow by 313,000 and the unemployment rate to stay steady at 4.2 percent.
Fed officials gather on Nov. 16 to decide whether to boost borrowing costs for a third time this year. Analysts have said the decision is likely to be a close call. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has made clear he is keeping a close eye on the labor market for possible signs of inflationary pressures.
The drop in the unemployment rate indicated further tightening in the already very strong job market. However, the pace of monthly payroll growth over the past two months, averaging 176,000, was a bit slower than the average trend of around 200,000 over the previous six months.
In one sign that may help calm some fears about wage inflation, average hourly earnings growth in October was modest, up only 0.1 percent to $13.37 from $13.36 in September. Economists in the Reuters poll had projected an average hourly earnings gain of 0.3 percent. Hourly earnings were up 3.6 percent in the year ended in October.
