• The US economy added just 12,000 jobs in October, well below the forecast of 106,000.
• The unemployment rate remained at 4.1% as expected.
• Labor market watchers had expected cooler job growth than September, in part because of the recent hurricanes and strikes.

The US economy added just 12,000 jobs in October, well below forecasts 106,000.

The unemployment rate in October was in line with expectations and held steady at 4.1%.

Economists and labor market watchers had expected job growth to slow after the back-to-back natural disasters of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in late September and early October disrupted life in several states.

“The October data from the Household and Establishment Surveys are the first collected since Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit the United States,” the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a news release Friday. “These hurricanes caused severe damage in the southeastern part of the country.”

Labor strife also dampened October’s job numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said before Friday’s news release that about 44,000 hotel workers, Boeing workers and others were on strike while data for the report was being compiled.

Those two factors weighing on the headline job creation numbers mean The Federal Reserve will likely take this month’s report with a grain of salt when deciding whether to pause or continue cutting interest rates.

“The Federal Reserve will likely look past the noisy October jobs report and rely on the totality of labor market data, which continues to point to a controlled reduction in job creation and labor supply absorption” , EY senior economist Lydia Boussour said ahead of the report.

Mixed results from the jobs report could complicate the Fed’s interest rate plans for next year. The report is just one of many data Fed members will rely on when they make their decision next week. Ahead of the new data, traders overwhelmingly believed the Fed would cut interest rates by 25 basis points next week, which would be less than the previous cut of 50 basis points in September.

The new jobs report is the last US employment report before the November 5 presidential election. An October poll AP-NORC found that 43 percent of registered voters “trust” Kamala Harris can do a better job handling jobs and unemployment, close to the 41 percent of registered voters who said Donald Trump.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.