After a rather lackluster September, the nation’s employment growth headed in a decidedly upward direction last month with an overall gain of 604,000 new jobs.
The latest numbers show the strongest employment picture since the month before the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020, with total jobs now at 148 million, compared to the 152 million recorded in February 2020.
Labor experts say the October showing is particularly encouraging given that the number was down to around 141 million as recently as this spring.
The new numbers, contends the Wall Street Journal, provide the first picture of how things are shaping up after enhanced federal unemployment benefits have expired: “And what do you know? Job growth beat expectations for a change.”
“The latest numbers undermine any narrative that the pandemic has caused large masses of people to leave the work force permanently,” observes the New York Times, “whether because of government stimulus benefits or personal factors.”
In a statement accompanying the latest survey, William Beach, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, noted that October’s job growth was “widespread, with notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing.”
The construction industry saw a gain of some 44,000 jobs for a national total now of 7.4 million.
The nonresidential sector added 33,000 new workers, with specialty trades up by nearly 11,000.
“It is encouraging to see continuing job growth in nonresidential construction, but the industry remains far behind the overall economy in recovering job losses from the pandemic,” noted Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associate General Contractors of America.
In fact, overall construction industry employment is still around 150,000 less than what it was in early 2020.
By Garry Boulard
