Friday's jobs report could be the last normal one for a while
Business / Economy
Fridays jobs report could be the last normal one for a while
By Alicia Wallace, CNN
6 minute read
Published 8:38 AM EDT, Thu October 3, 2024
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While Septembers employment data is expected to stay relatively tame, the same cant be said for the October jobs report, which is set to be released on November 1, just days before the presidential election.
That months data could very well be heavily distorted by three significant disruptions: the devastation from Hurricane Helene; the ongoing Boeing machinists strike; and the fresh, but massive, strike at US ports along the East and Gulf Coasts.
The strikes and hurricane-related effects are not going to permanently alter the trajectory of the labor market; but September is probably our last clean reading on the labor market for a while, Ryan Sweet, chief US economist at Oxford Economics, told CNN earlier this week. The Boeing strike and the port strike, if they continue through the payroll reference period of the 12th of October, theyll subtract from employment.
He added: Tack on Hurricane Helene, and theres the possibility that employment drops or declines in October.
Even though the cause would be temporary, the US hasnt had a negative jobs report since December 2020, when Covid cases had a resurgence.
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