Rebounding from hurricanes, employers add 261K positions

Unemployment rate lowest in almost 17 years

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a solid 261,000 jobs in October in a bounce back from the hurricanes that slammed the Southeast in September.

The unemployment rate declined to 4.1 percent, the lowest in nearly 17 years, from 4.2 percent in September, the Labor Department said Friday. But the drop in the rate occurred mostly because many people stopped looking for work and so were no longer counted as unemployed.

Numbers specific to Nevada were not included in the report. Typically, statewide statistics are reported later in the month.

October’s burst of hiring largely re- flects a rebound from the hurricanes that temporarily depressed job gains in September. But it also shows that, for all their fury, the storms didn’t knock the economy or the job market off course. Over the past three months, job growth has averaged 162,000, similar to the pace of hiring before the hurricanes.

“Hiring got a boost from the post-hurricane rebound, but the underlying trend remained steady,”

ECONOMY

visiting from Austin, Texas, camping outside the store Thursday night was a last-minute decision.

“I’m doing this more for the excitement. This is my first time actually waiting for a product. I’ve been here since 8 p.m. yesterday,” James said. “2017 has been amazing, so I’m like, ‘Why not?’”

Las Vegas resident Manal Kurdali, 28, said it was also her first time camping out for a product — and it was also a last-minute decision.

“I don’t even know why I did what I did. It was literally just driving by, and we were like, ‘Let’s try something new. I’m sure it’s going to be a great product.’”

Kurdali echoed others in line when she said she is most excited about the 5.8-inch retina display and facial-recognition technology of the new phone.

The line spanned about 100 people as of 7:30 a.m Friday. The first person to walk out of the store with an iphone X in hand walked out to a round of applause.

A similar scene took place outside the Fashion Show mall.

Dawn Robertson, 55, lined up outside the shopping center around 2 a.m. She brought a chair and blanket to stay warm.

Workers let her and the rest of the line into the building around 7 a.m. Security kicked out two people who tried to skip the line, she said.

By 7:20 a.m., about 80 people had gathered outside Apple’s Fashion Show store.

Robertson had her wrist wrapped from carpal tunnel surgery, which gave her the week off from work.

“It worked out,” she said.

Around the time Robertson arrived at the store, Lily Petersen, 22, got off work as a 911 dispatcher.

Petersen had learned her lesson from waiting in line for previous Apple products.

She pre-ordered the phone online, arrived at the Fashion Show mall around 7:20 a.m. and was among the first called into the store.

She wouldn’t have much time to play with her phone before her 4 p.m. shift.

“I like my job,” she said. “I’m not much of a morning person anyway.”

Contact Wade Tyler Millward at wmillward@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4602. Follow @wademillward on Twitter. Contact Nicole Raz at nraz@reviewjournal.com or 702380-4512. Follow @Journalistnikki on Twitter.