Mo Brooks: October jobs report shows continued ‘winning streak’ for American workers

In a press release on Friday, Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-5) emphasized the strong, newly-released Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) October jobs report, which showed the American economy adding 250,000 jobs in the month.

“The winning streak for American workers continued in October with increased jobs and an unchanged unemployment rate,” Brooks said. “The American economy added 250,000 jobs in October, and the overall unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.”

Brooks continued, “This great news comes on the heels of the Labor Department report that wages and salaries jumped 3.1% over the last year, the highest increase in a decade. These combined numbers mean more better paying jobs for American workers.”

The good news does not stop there.

“Job openings in America recently hit an all-time high at 7.1 million. Employers are having to compete for workers, driving up wages. According to the Commerce Department, from October 2017 to October 2018 average weekly earnings for American workers increased by $31.28,” Brooks outlined.

The congressman from north Alabama concluded, “Since January 2017, the U.S. economy has added 4 million jobs, and in September the unemployment rate fell to 3.7%, the lowest since 1969. The American economy and the American people continue to thrive under pro-growth, free-enterprise policies that make us all better off.”

Key takeaways from the Bureau of Labor Statistics October jobs report are:

• America’s economy added 250,000 new, nonfarm payroll jobs in October 2018.
• America’s economy added 2.5 million new, nonfarm payroll jobs over the past year.
• America’s October unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, a year-to-year improvement of 0.4 percentage points over the 4.1 percent unemployment rate of October 2017.
• Unemployment rates for all major races and ethnicities improved or dipped slightly over the past year:
  · The African American unemployment rate improved by 1.1 points (from 7.3 percent in October 2017 to 6.2 percent in October 2018).
  · The Hispanic American unemployment rate improved by 0.4 points (4.8 percent to 4.4 percent).
  · The Caucasian American unemployment rates improved by 0.2 points (3.5 percent to 3.3 percent).
  · The Asian American unemployment rate inched up by 0.2 points (3.0 percent to 3.2 percent).
• Females (at 3.4 percent unemployment rate) continued to fare better than males (at 3.5 percent unemployment rate).
• Over the past year, the average weekly earnings for all non-farm American workers increased by $31.28.

Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn