In what was otherwise a mediocre jobs report, in which the
establishment survey reported that a lower than expected 261K jobs were
added to the post-Hurricane economy, the biggest surprise was not in the
Establishment survey, but the household, where the unemployment rate
tumbled once more, sliding to a new cycle low of 4.1%, for all the wrong
reasons, because a quick look at the participation rate metrics
showed that in October there was a sharp decline, with the labor force
part. rate sliding from 63.1% to 62.7%, back to 4 decade lows...
... driven by one disturbing metric: the number of people who exited the labor force soared by a near record 968,000 in October - the third highest on record - pushing the total number of people not in the labor force to a record 95.385 million, as the civlian labor force shrunk by whopping 765,000 in one month.
This took place as the number of employed Americans declined by 484,000, however since the unemployment rate denominator dropped more, it translated into an actual decline in the unemployment rate!
... driven by one disturbing metric: the number of people who exited the labor force soared by a near record 968,000 in October - the third highest on record - pushing the total number of people not in the labor force to a record 95.385 million, as the civlian labor force shrunk by whopping 765,000 in one month.
This took place as the number of employed Americans declined by 484,000, however since the unemployment rate denominator dropped more, it translated into an actual decline in the unemployment rate!
