SMALLEST U.S. JOB GAIN IN 5 MONTHS EXPECTED IN OCTOBER

US employers likely hired the fewest workers in five months in October, in what would be clearest indication yet that the end of fiscal stimulus and exploding new COVID-19 infections were sapping momentum from the economic recovery, Lucia Mukitani reported for Reuters.

The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report will underscore the challenges the next president, whether it is incumbent Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Joe Biden, confronts to keep the economy growing as it heals from the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

Biden inched closer to victory in an exceedingly close US election, while Trump alleged fraud without providing evidence, filing lawsuits and calling for recounts in a race yet to be decided since polls closed.

“The October jobs report is likely to show evidence of a weakening labor market,” said Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “This is an urgent problem facing whoever will be in the White House.” Nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 600,000 jobs in October after rising 661,000 in September, according to a Reuters survey of economists. That would be the smallest gain since the jobs recovery started in May and leave employment 10.1 million jobs below its February peak.