Good news for those watching jobs an the economy. The United States added 250,000 jobs in October which was significantly above the estimates. The labor market is maintaining its momentum just before the crucial midterm elections.
The unemployment rate is holding at 3.7 percent which is the lowest level since December of 1969, according to the Department of Labor on Friday.
Wages rose 3.1 percent, that’s the first time since April of 2009 that growth has topped 3 percent.
The strength of the job market gives President Trump and Republicans a welcome talking point four days before Election Day.
This will surely be a headline in Trump’s speeches at rallies prior to the election. He is quick to not his low unemployment numbers as he tries to convince voters that the GOP will do a better job of keeping the economy healthy.
In a Friday morning tweet, Trump highlighted his numbers and challenged his 55.6 million followers to “vote Republican!”
“Wow! The U.S. added 250,000 Jobs in October – and this was despite the hurricanes. Unemployment at 3.7%. Wages UP! These are incredible numbers. Keep it going, Vote Republican!”
“The U.S. labor market is in excellent shape in October,” said Bill Adams, PNC’s senior economist.
“The unemployment rate is the lowest since 1969, wage growth is the strongest since 2009, and the number of job openings has exceeded active jobseekers since March,” he said.
“Some of October’s strong payroll growth is catch-up after the impact of Hurricane Florence, but the trend in 2018 has been strong.”
The economy has increased jobs for 97 straight months, beginning in October 2010 under former President Obama. It is the longest streak of monthly jobs growth on record.
“All told, the labor market keeps expanding at a robust pace,” wrote University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers on Twitter.
“Indeed, jobs growth this rapid with unemployment this low might be hard to sustain,” Wolfers added.