Payrolls in the U.S. rose by 64,000 in November after falling by 105,000 in October, delayed jobs numbers show

Nonfarm payrolls grew slightly more than expected in November but slumped in October while unemployment hit its highest in four years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday in numbers delayed by the government shutdown.

Job growth totaled a seasonally adjusted 64,000 for the month, better than the Dow Jones estimate of 45,000 and up from a sharp decline in October.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, more than expected and its highest level since September 2021. A more encompassing measure that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons swelled to 8.7%, its peak going back to August 2021.

In addition to the November report, the BLS released an abbreviated October count that showed payrolls down 105,000. While there was no official estimate, Wall Street economists were largely expecting a decline following a surprise increase of 108,000 in September.

The October slump came from a steep fall in government employment as deferred layoffs instituted earlier this year took effect. Government payrolls were off 162,000 for the month, and fell an additional 6,000 in November.

The October decline marked the third time in six months that payrolls saw a net negative level. The BLS report also showed that August’s numbers were revised down 22,000 to show a steeper loss of 26,000, while September’s initial count was pushed lower by 11,000.

The BLS had cautioned that the household survey, which is used to calculate the unemployment rate, will be affected for several months by impacts of the shutdown. Challenges in capturing the October numbers led to the cancellation of both the jobs report and the closely watched consumer price index.