The US economy saw a surprise addition of 2,04,000 new jobs in October despite a fortnight long government shutdown, latest government figures said today, reflecting an improvement in the condition of the world's largest economy.
Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 2,04,000 in October, bring down the unemployment rate to 7.3 per cent compared with 7.9 per cent a year ago, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics reported.
Employment increased in leisure and hospitality, retail trade, professional and technical services, manufacturing and health care, the monthly report said.
The creation of new jobs is being considered significant given that it comes despite a 16-day government shutdown for due to an impasse in the Congress.
Hundreds of thousands of government workers were furloughed during the shutdown, which came as members of Congress battled over a budget for the new fiscal year that began on October 1.
According to The Wall Street Journal, this report has raised the prospect that the labour market may be strengthening enough for the Federal Reserve to start pulling back its easy-money policies soon.
"Average job creation over the past three months now exceeds a 200,000 pace, matching the strong gains recorded in early in the year. The improvement might allow Federal Reserve policy makers to consider reducing the pace of the USD 85 billion-a-month bond-buying program at its next meeting, set for December," the newspaper reported.
