Firm Growth: US generated 271,000 new jobs

WASHINGTON: The US jobs machine powered up in October, proving the economy’s resilience amid a global slowdown and supporting the first Federal Reserve interest rate hike in nine years in December. The Labor Department reported that the economy pumped out a strong 271,000 net new jobs last month, nearly double the September number, sending the jobless rate down to a seven-and-a-half year low at 5.0%. It was a far better performance than expected, and came after a two-month slump that had raised worries that a global growth stall was infecting the domestic economy. Instead, the numbers confirmed a firm upward trajectory for growth and a tightening of the labour market, signals the Fed has been looking for to justify beginning to raise interest rates in December after an unprecedented holding of them at the zero level for almost seven years.  

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.