Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2020-11-06

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 638,000 in October, and the unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent. These improvements reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. In October, private nonfarm employment rose by 906,000. Employment rose in several private-sector industries, with the largest gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, and construction. By contrast, employment in government declined by 268,000. Total nonfarm payroll employment has increased for 6 consecutive months but is down by 10.1 million (or 6.6 percent) since February, before the onset of the pandemic in the United States. Although unemployment fell for the sixth month in a row in October, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed people are up by 3.4 percentage points and 5.3 million, respectively, since February. The response rate for the establishment survey was above average for October.