U.S. employers added just 12,000 jobs last month as hurricanes and strikes sharply cut wages.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added just 12,000 jobs in October. consequences of strikes and hurricanes as a result, many workers were temporarily left without wages. The report provides a somewhat blurry picture of the labor market at the end of a presidential race that was largely dependent on voter sentiment. attitude to economics.

Hiring gains last month were down significantly from the 223,000 jobs added in September. But economists have calculated that hurricanes Helen and Milton, combined with impacts on Boeing and other businesses, had an effect curbing net job growth by tens of thousands of jobs in October.

Friday’s Labor Department report also showed the unemployment rate remained at 4.1% last month. The low unemployment rate suggests the labor market is still generally healthy, although not as strong as it was earlier this year. Combined with an inflation rate that has fallen from its 2022 peak to level close to pre-pandemic levelsThe economy as a whole appears to be on solid footing ahead of Election Day.

THIS IS BREAKING NEWS. AP’s earlier story appears below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans will get the latest major survey of the U.S. economy Friday, the October jobs report, just four days before Election Day. However, the opinion will most likely be hidden by the effects of strikes and hurricanes as a result, many workers were temporarily left without wages.

The Labor Department is expected to report that employers added just under 118,000 jobs last month, according to projections polled by data firm FactSet. That would be a decent, if hardly impressive, achievement. But this would mean a sharp fall from an unexpectedly strong 254,000 jobs that the economy increased in September.

But economists warn that hurricanes Helen and Milton, coupled with ongoing strikes, including by Boeing machinists, have had an effect curbing net job growth in October. Lydia Boussour, senior economist at tax and advisory firm EY, expects the government to report just 70,000 jobs were created in October. She estimates that hurricanes and strikes combined to cut jobs by 111,000 last month.

“The October jobs report will be unclear,” Boussour wrote in a commentary. “We believe the true underlying job growth rate was likely around 170,000 in October.” At the same time, the unemployment rate is expected to remain low at 4.1%, according to a FactSet survey.

By any measure, these numbers reflect a healthy labor market—not as robust as earlier this year, but still strong and stable. Combined with an inflation rate that has fallen from its 2022 peak to level close to pre-pandemic levelsThe economy as a whole is on solid footing ahead of Election Day.

Economists also note that the United States has the world’s strongest economy, which has proven remarkably resilient despite pressure from high interest rates. This week, for example, the government estimated that the economy had grown rapidly. healthy annual rate of 2.8% Consumer spending, the heart of the economy, helped drive growth in the latest quarter.

However, as voters choose between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, a large number of Americans said they unhappy with the state of the economy. Despite the sharp fall in inflation, many people are chafing at high prices, which have risen sharply during the recovery from the pandemic recession and remain on average about 20% higher than they were before inflation began accelerating in early 2021.

The fuzziness of the October jobs data could lead some Republican politicians to again question the credibility of the government’s employment data, especially if it comes out stronger than economists expect. Sen. Marco Rubio, for example, a Florida Republican and former Trump critic turned unabashed supporter, baselessly claimed that the surprisingly strong September jobs report was “fake”.

More no leading economist shares this skepticism. And other economic barometers, such as the number of people filing for unemployment benefits (data collected mostly by states), also point to a still strong labor market.

With inflation down significantly, the Federal Reserve is set to cut its benchmark interest rate next week for a second time and likely again in December. The Fed’s 11 rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 helped slow inflation without plunging the economy into recession. The Fed’s series of rate cuts should lead to lower borrowing rates for consumers and businesses over time.

Meanwhile, the labor market showed signs of slowing growth. This week, the Department of Labor reported that employers have published 7.4 million vacancies in September. While this is still more than employers reported ahead of the 2020 pandemic, it is the lowest number of vacancies since January 2021.

And 3.1 million Americans quit your job in September, the smallest number in more than four years. A decline in layoffs typically indicates that more workers are losing confidence in their ability to find better jobs elsewhere.