Following the gross distortions of the ISM Services Employment index, which printed at a seasonally adjusted near record high, the whisper number for today's NFP was well above the official consensus estimate of 235K. Instead what happened was, naturally, what nobody expected: a miss, with the headline print coming in at 214K, well below the 235K expected, and down substantially from last month's upward revised 256K. Looks like the momentum is stalling fast. And just to complete the farce, the unemployment rate of the nation that just threw out democrats in protest over the economy.... dropped to 5.8%
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From the report:
Establishment Survey Data
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 214,000 in October, in line with the average monthly gain of 222,000 over the prior 12 months. In October, job
growth occurred in food services and drinking places, retail trade, and health care. (See table B-1.)
Food services and drinking places added 42,000 jobs in October, compared with an average gain of 26,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months.
Employment in retail trade rose by 27,000 in October. Within the industry, employment grew in general merchandise stores (+12,000) and automobile dealers (+4,000). Retail trade has added 249,000 jobs over the past year.
Health care added 25,000 jobs in October, about in line with the prior 12-month average gain of 21,000 jobs per month. In October, employment rose in ambulatory health care services (+19,000).
Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up over the month (+37,000). Over the prior 12 months, job gains averaged 56,000 per month. In October, employment continued to trend up in temporary help services (+15,000) and in computer systems design and related services (+7,000).
In October, manufacturing employment continued on an upward trend (+15,000). Within the industry, job gains occurred in machinery (+5,000), furniture and related products (+4,000), and semiconductors and electronic components (+2,000). Over the year, manufacturing has added 170,000 jobs, largely in durable goods.
Employment also continued to trend up in transportation and warehousing (+13,000) and construction (+12,000).
Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging, wholesale trade, information, financial activities, and government, showed little change over the month.
