U.S. hiring slowed significantly last month, marking the weakest job growth reported under President Joe Biden.

Friday’s negative employment update, released just days before the US election, revealed that just 12,000 non-farm payroll jobs were added in October, down from 223,000 a month earlier.

That marked the slowest growth rate since late 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as analysts blamed the impact of hurricanes and strike at Boeing.

While hiring slowed, America’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1 percent.

The closely watched report is sure to draw attention from both presidential candidates ahead of next Thursday’s election, such as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump struggle to convince voters of their ability to improve the economy.

Rubeela Farooqi, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said the hiring slowdown “is likely to influence how people view economic conditions.”

The latest figures show the slowest rate of US job growth since President Biden took office in early January 2021.

Responding to the report, President Biden said hiring would rebound in November as the country’s hurricane recovery efforts continue.

He said: “America’s economy remains strong, with 16 million jobs added since I took office, including an average of 180,000 jobs added each month over the past year — more than the year before the pandemic.”

However, Sarah House, senior economist at Wells Fargo, said the latest figures showed the US labor market was still “struggling to find its footing”.

The figures come after Hurricane Helene left 220 dead and millions without power in late September, followed by Hurricane Milton in Florida a week later.

Meanwhile, a total of 41,400 new US workers went on strike last month when the survey was conducted.

That included walkouts at Boeing, where union officials are demanding a record 40 percent pay increase for the planemaker’s 32,000 employees.

Jared Bernstein, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, said earlier this week that the collective impact of the hurricanes and the strike could reduce job growth by as much as 100,000 positions.

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