With the US election only days away (and the polls tighter than a Scottish wallet) President Barak Obama received another boost to his campaign.
According to statistics compiled by the Labour Department US hiring increased in October by more than forecast. Economists participating in a Bloomberg news survey provided a median estimate of a 125,000 gain, but even the most optimistic of their predictions (154,000) proved wide of the mark.
Although unemployment climbed to 7.9 per cent 171,000 workers were added to payrolls in October. Other figures showed the smallest increase in hourly earnings for at least five years after a gain of just 1.6 per cent compared with the same period in 2011.
Private payrolls also increased by an unexpectedly high amount, beating economist’s predictions of 123,000 by 61,000.
According to Bank of the West’s chief economist Scott Anderson; ‘The labour market is taking baby steps forward. The fact that consumers are spending again has been an important support. Consumers pull a lot of weight, so more spending can lead to job creation’.
Recent improvements in consumer sentiment can certainly be attributed as one of the primary causes of the recent job growth with the retail sector being responsible for the majority of employment. Retailers contributed the most workers to payrolls for eighteen months but construction was also boosted by the stabilising housing market.
Leisure, business services, hospitality and manufacturing also recorded an increase.
With the race for the presidency currently at a dead heat this result could be the push voters need. In just four days time America will decide whether Barak Obama or Mitt Romney will be the man to lead them out of the economic crisis.
As of 13:15 pm
The Pound to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 1.2473
The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.6031
The Pound to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.5432
The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.2850
The Euro to Pound exchange rate is currently trading at 0.8016
Comments are closed.