This is the worst figure since 2020, and it comes at a bad time for the vice-president and Democratic candidate in the US presidential election on November 5, Kamala Harris. The United States only created 12,000 jobs in October while unemployment hit 7 million Americans, with an unemployment rate of 4.1% (the Wall Street Journal note that he passed, in reality, from 4.05% to 4.14% between September and October). This figure, lower than analysts' expectations, is explained in particular by the two hurricanes, Helene and Milton, which devastated Florida and North Carolina, as well as by the strike at Boeing since September 13, which led to numerous layoffs at the aircraft manufacturer and its subcontractors.
Employment in the transport manufacturing industry thus fell by 44,000 jobs, “largely because of the strike”writes the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Without the 40,000 jobs created in the public sector, this figure would have been negative, which the Republicans immediately noted four days before the presidential election. Job creations for August and September were revised downwards, falling to 78,000 (compared to 254,000 announced) and 223,000 (compared to 254,000 announced).
This figure of 12,000 new jobs, which confirms the landing of the economy, should confirm the Fed, the American central bank, in its intention to lower its key rates by a quarter of a point, Wednesday November 6, after a reduction by half a point in September which brought them down to 4.75%. The meeting of the monetary policy committee is being held at a particularly acrobatic moment, the day (Tuesday November 5) and the day after (Wednesday November 6) of the presidential election. To guarantee its political neutrality, the bank should stick to what is planned, regardless of Wednesday's political and financial upheavals. Wall Street was up on Friday 1is November, but the market was driven by good results from Amazon.
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If the economy is doing well, with growth reaching 2.8% at an annual rate, according to figures published Wednesday October 30, the mandate of the Biden-Harris administration has been tarnished by the resurgence of inflation. Cumulatively, since the arrival of Democrats in the White House, prices have increased by 20%. Falling to 2.4% in September, inflation reached a record 9.1% in June 2022, which led to a decline in the purchasing power of Americans.
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