Sharp U.S. Hiring Slowdown Signals Cooling Economy Ahead
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Job growth slowed sharply last month, a sign the U.S. economy is cooling this fall after a torrid summer.
Employers added 150,000 jobs in October, half the prior month’s gain and the smallest monthly increase since June, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate rose to 3.9%, up a half-point since April, and wage growth slowed.
If sustained, a hiring pullback is likely to bring the Federal Reserve’s historic interest-rate increases to an end by providing stronger evidence that higher borrowing costs have slowed the economy. The report could also mollify concerns that brisk consumer spending this summer would lead hiring or wages to reaccelerate.
The jobs report helped extend a furious market rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5% this week to 34,061.32
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