US economy adds booming 250,000 jobs in October

The economy added a healthy 250,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department said Friday in the last employment report before midterm elections that President Donald Trump has cast as a critical referendum on his stewardship of the economy.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at a near 50-year low of 3.7 percent. Annual wage growth topped 3 percent for the first time in nine years.

Economists had estimated 200,000 jobs were added last month, according to a Bloomberg survey.

Trump has boasted that low unemployment is a result of the cuts to taxes and regulations championed by his administration and warned that electing Democrats would reverse the gains.

“At stake in this Election is whether we continue the extraordinary prosperity we have achieved - or whether we let the Radical Democrat Mob take a giant wrecking ball to our Country and our Economy!” he tweeted this week.

Economists, however, say there likely would be no significant impact on the economy and labor market if the House or Senate flipped to Democratic control.

Politics aside, the significance of Friday’s report was tempered by the effects of recent hurricanes. Hurricane Florence appeared to reduce employment by 50,000 in the Carolinas in September, likely leading to a similar-size boost last month as workers returned to job sites, Goldman Sachs estimated. Payrolls increased by just 118,000 in September. But the research firm expected that to be largely offset by a decline of 20,000 to 40,000 jobs as a result of Hurricane Michael, which battered the Florida Panhandle. Goldman expected a net 15,000 bump from weather effects.

Monthly job growth has averaged a sturdy 212,000 this year, up from 182,000 in 2017, despite low unemployment and related labor shortages that are making it harder for businesses to find workers.

“Businesses have started relaxing their (hiring) standards,” says Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors. “They’re being more rational. That’s why we’re seeing sustained strong job growth” despite the smaller supply of available workers.