The October numbers continued to show relative weakness in the state economy. Nonfarm jobs (seasonally adjusted) dropped by 5,500 in the preliminary results. The results for September were revised down by 2,200 to a gain of 12,700. Over the past three months, nonfarm jobs have grown by only 6,000, compared to 74,200 in the same period in 2023.
The unemployment rate rose by 0.1 point to 5.4%. Total employment (seasonally adjusted) dropped by 5,800 over the month, while posting an 82,700 loss from the near-term peak experienced in May 2023. Total number of unemployed continued increasing by 13,100 over the month, bringing the total rise in unemployed to 322,400 since the near-term low seen in August 2022. The number of unemployed has now remained above 1 million every month so far this year.
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