CUNA Senior Economist Dawit Kebede issued the following statement in response to the Labor Department’s October Employment Situation:   

“The U.S. economy added 261,000 jobs in October, with service-providing industries responsible for 77% of the growth. The pace has slowed relative to previous months but this is robust job growth. The unemployment rate increased from 3.5% to 3.7%.  

“The labor force participation declined slightly after ticking up in August. In the last two months, 79,000 people left the job market. However, the number of part-time employed persons for economic reasons decreased by 183,000 indicating employment quality improvement. 

“A slower pace in job and hourly wage increases indicate labor market conditions might be moving in the direction the Federal Reserve wants them. However, this is still a tight job market with potential wage pressures on inflation.”