Unemployment Up To 10.2%

The Unemployment Rate for October increased  by 0.4% to 10.2%, which is the largest monthly increase in the unemployment rate since April of 1983.  This release comes in more than the expected rate of 9.9%, following a level of 9.8% in September and 9.7% in August, as the number of unemployed persons increased by 558,000 to 15.4 million.  Since the start of the recession in December of 2007, the number of unemployed persons increased by 8.2 million and the unemployment rate has grown by 5.3%.  Nonfarm Payrolls fell by 190,000, with more layoffs than expected (173,000), following a 219,000 decline in September, revised upward from a 263,000 decrease.  Over the month, the largest job losses occurred in construction, manufacturing, and retail trade.  The Average Workweek stood at 33 hours, and Average Hourly Earnings increased by 0.3% over the month.

Wholesale Inventories for September are scheduled for release today at 10:00 AM EST, and are expected to fall by 1% following a 1.3% decline in August, to $381.2 billion.  This figure gauges sales and inventory statistics from the second stage of the manufacturing process, which may change the aggregate inventory profile that has influence on GDP forecast.  Wholesale Sales increased by 1.0% to $317.9 billion in August.

Upcoming Releases
Treasury Budget (11/12 at 2:00 PM EST)
Trade Balance (11/13 at 8:30 AM EST)
Initial Claims (11/12 at 8:30 AM EST)

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