The U.S. economy added just 12,000 jobs in October, falling well below economists’ expectations, the Labor Department's final pre-election jobs report shows.
The figure, released Friday, marks a sharp drop from the 223,000 jobs added in September. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had anticipated a gain of 100,000, factoring in the impact of hurricanes and the ongoing Boeing strike. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent, matching forecasts.
The underwhelming report comes after the Labor Department downwardly revised job creation figures for the prior two months, lowering August's job gains from 159,000 to 78,000, and September's from 254,000 to 223,000.
Gross domestic product grew 2.8 percent in the third quarter, also below economists' expectations and down from the last quarter's pace, the Department of Commerce said Wednesday.
The economy remains voters’ top concern just days before the presidential election, with voters favoring former president Donald Trump’s approach to the economy over Vice President Kamala Harris’s, 47 percent to 37 percent. Over 60 percent in battleground states believe that the economy is on the "wrong track" under the Biden-Harris administration, according to Reuters.