Job growth flatlines, unemployment stable in hurricane-disrupted reading

What they're saying: "It is likely that payroll employment estimates in some industries were affected by the hurricanes," the government said in a release.

• The government also noted that employment fell in manufacturing — the sector lost 46,000 jobs in October, nearly all in transportation — due to strike activity. The culprit was likely Boeing.

By the numbers: The report far worse than the 110,000 job gains economists expected. It is the worst payroll figure since December 2020, when the economy shed hundreds of thousands of jobs.

• There was a sharp slowdown from the blowout 223,000 jobs added in September and the gain of 78,000 in August.

State of play: Economists anticipated a messy jobs report that would not reveal much about the health of the labor market.

• There was expected fallout from the two hurricanes that slammed the nation and the thousands of workers — namely at Boeing — who remained on strike.
• "This report will most likely show a significant but temporary loss of jobs from the two recent hurricanes and the strike at Boeing," Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller said in a speech last month.

The big picture: Still it is a key jobs report, if only for the timing of its release.

• It comes just days before the presidential election, when voters have remained relatively sour on the economy despite its ongoing resilience.
• It also comes before Fed's two-day policy meeting that ends next Thursday, where officials are expected to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point. There is uncertainty about how much lower interest rates will go in the months ahead.

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional details and a chart.