U.S. Economic News
November 1, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
The U.S. economy added 128,000 jobs in October, exceeding expectations. The unemployment edged up to 3.6%, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.3%, and average hourly earnings annual growth increased to 3.0%. BLS Report
The ISM Manufacturing Index rose 0.5 percentage point to 48.3 in October. The Employment Index rose 1.4 percentage points to 47.7, while the New Orders Index rose 1.8 percentage points to 49.1. ISM Report
Construction spending rose 0.5% in September to an annualized rate of $1.29 trillion. Private construction edged up 0.2% while public construction rose 1.5%. Census Bureau Report
U.S. News
According to Bloomberg, U.S.-China trade relations gained an extra layer of tension as China won the support of the WTO in imposing $3.6 billion in sanctions against the United States as part of a trade dispute case predating the current trade war. While the ruling deals with matters unrelated to the current tit-for-tat conflict, it gives Beijing more leverage should tensions escalate. Bloomberg