The Economics and Statistics Division maintains archives of previous publications for accountability purposes, but makes no updates to keep these documents current with the latest data revisions from Statistics Canada. As a result, information in older documents may not be accurate. Please exercise caution when referring to older documents. For the latest information and historical data, please contact the individual listed to the right.
<--- Return to Archive
For additional information relating to this article, please contact:
November 06, 2020US EMPLOYMENT, OCTOBER 2020 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that US non-farm payroll employment increased by 0.6 million from September to October 2020 for the sixth consecutive month following a sharp decline in March and April.
The US unemployment rate fell 1.0 percentage points to 6.9%. The improvements in the labor market reflected a continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to contain it.
The US employment fell by 22.2 million in March and April combined. The strongest employment increases occurred in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, and construction in October2020. Employment declined in government. Despite the monthly increase, nonfarm employment in October was 6.6% (10.1 million) below its February level.
The US unemployment rate declined by 1.0 percentage points to 6.9% in October 2020. US unemployment decreased by 1.5 million to 11.1 million in October 2020. While unemployment decreased for six consecutive months, the US unemployment rate remains 3.4 percentage points higher and the number of unemployed persons increased by 5.8 million since February 2020 due to COVID-19 and efforts to contain it.
The US participation rate increased 0.3 percentage point to 61.7% of the working age population in October but is 1.7 percentage points below its February level.
The US employment to population ratio was up by 0.8 percentage point to 57.4% in October but 3.7 percentage points lower than its February level.
The reference week for the US household survey was October 11th through October 17th.
Note: Canadian and US labour force statistics refer to different working-age cohorts.
Sources:
US Bureau of Labor Statistics news release, Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation
Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0287-01 Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle
<--- Return to Archive
