
Boeing and other strikes will take at least a 44,000-job bite out of the October jobs report
CNN
Striking workers will take at least a 44,000-job bite out of the October jobs report, according to new data released Friday.
Striking workers will take at least a 44,000-job bite out of the October jobs report, according to new data released Friday. That’s the biggest monthly employment knock in a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest strike report. The largest chunk of that total comes from the 33,000 striking machinists at Boeing. However, while the massive number of idle machinists and the ripple effects of two major hurricanes are expected to temporarily distort what’s been a solid pace of employment growth, the final jobs report before the election isn’t expected to be as dour as once thought, economists say. “We now no longer see a negative report in the cards for October,” Joe Brusuelas, chief economist and principal at RSM US, told CNN Friday. “Our model [excluding] strike and hurricane and weather distortions would have told us 200,000” job gains for October, Brusuelas said. “So, our forecast is for a 120,000 increase in total employment, which is fine on its own. But it will likely understate the true pace of labor creation in the economy.” In addition to the workers listed on strike, Brusuelas anticipates an additional subtraction of 5,000 to 7,000 Boeing jobs, given the company’s announced plans to cut 10%, or 17,000 jobs, from its workforce.