US jobs report, unemployment rate, and wage growth, October 2018

The
October jobs report was expected to show the fastest wage growth
since the recession.
Quinn
Harris/Getty

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the October jobs
report at 8:30 a.m. ET. 

Economists forecast that employers added 200,000 nonfarm payrolls
last month, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. That
would be a rebound from the weakest monthly gain of 2018 recorded
in September, when payrolls rose by 134,000. 

The
unemployment rate is forecast to hold steady at 3.7%,
its lowest level since 1969. 

Wage growth should be the star of the show and is expected to
show a new post-crisis milestone for Americans’ paychecks. 

Average hourly earnings are forecast to rise 3.1% year-on-year,
which would be the first time they’ve grown by more than 3% since
April 2009. This is expected partly because wage growth was weak
last October, as many of the lower-paid staff who were put out of
work by Hurricane Harvey returned to their jobs. 

Overall, the jobs report should continue to reflect the tightest
labor market in several years that’s putting pressure on
employers to raise worker pay. If it beats expectations, it would
bolster the Trump administration’s talking point on the economy
just days before the Midterm elections next week. 

The report should also bolster expectations that the Federal
Reserve will
raise interest rates at its December meeting. At the same
time, a hot wage-growth print could revive
investors’ concerns about inflation and how this could
influence future Fed decisions.

More to come, refresh this page for the latest at 8:30 a.m.
ET.

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