Former President Trump intends to take a final shot at Vice President Kamala Harris over the latest jobs data on Friday.
Trump’s prepared remarks for his event in North Carolina later Saturday have him blaming Harris for the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. The Department of Labor’s study blamed the losses on the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“Yesterday, it was stated that our country lost approximately 30,000 private sector employment last month alone, as well as nearly 50,000 manufacturing jobs in a single month. “They’re trying to blame the hurricane for the job numbers—but it wasn’t Hurricane Helene; it was Hurricane Kamala,” Trump is expected to add.
“Under her catastrophic economic policy, over 100,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost since the beginning of the year. Last month, 150,000 Americans became unemployed, and over a quarter of a million people left the job force,” the statement continues.
The United States’ job growth slowed in October, falling far short of economists’ predictions, while the unemployment rate remained steady.
The Labor Department reported on Friday that employers gained 12,000 jobs in October, significantly lower than the 113,000 gain projected by LSEG economists and the lowest total since December 2020.
The unemployment rate was 4.1%, as expected.
The number of jobs added in the previous two months were both revised lower. Job creation in August was revised down by 81,000 from a gain of 159,000 to 78,000, and September was revised down by 31,000 from a gain of 254,000 to 223,000.
In October, private sector payrolls fell by 28,000, despite the fact that LSEG analysts predicted a 90,000 increase.
The manufacturing sector lost 46,000 jobs in October, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) attributed primarily to strike activity in the transportation equipment manufacturing sector. Boeing’s roughly 33,000 unionized machinists have been on strike since early September.
The construction sector created 8,000 new employment, falling short of the previous year’s average of 20,000 each month. In October, the health-care industry added 52,300 jobs, which is close to its average monthly growth of 58,000 over the last year.
In October, the government added 40,000 jobs, which was roughly in line with its 12-month average of 43,000.
The BLS stated that Hurricane Helene made landfall in the southeast prior to the reference period for its employment surveys, whereas Hurricane Milton struck the same region during the reporting period.
