Employers Added 531,000 Jobs in Oct, but Experts Say Labor Market Has a Long Way to Go

New numbers indicate the job market is bouncing back as demand for workers grows and COVID cases decrease. 

The U.S. Labor Department's October report increased almost three times the dismal gains we saw in September. While U.S. jobs rose each month this year and wages are up, those dollars aren't going as far due to inflation. 

Economists say the labor market has a long way to go with jobs still down about 4.1 million since the pandemic began. 

President Biden spoke to the nation Friday regarding the roughly 531,000 job increase.

"The job creation in the first 9 months of my administration is about 5.6 million, a record for any new president," Biden said. 

Phil Kerpen, president of American Commitment and a free-market policy analyst, told CBN News that increase is directly affected by the ebb and flow of COVID. 

"Even as the virus factor phases out, I still anticipate we're going to have difficulty with filling a lot of jobs," Kerpen said. "The help wanted signs aren't necessarily going out of the windows anytime soon."

In addition to 531,000 jobs in October, the numbers show unemployment dropped to 4.6%. White males reaped the most benefit. Jobless rates stayed stagnant for women, teens, Blacks, Asians, and Hispanics. 

The biggest gains were in the leisure and hospitality industry (164,000 jobs), professional and business services (100,000), and manufacturing (60,000). The biggest loss came in the education sector at state and local schools, losing 65,000 employees. 

"So enrollment hasn't really come back even as public school open and I think that's why we're seeing a decline in the employment there," Kerpen said. 

He explained desperate employers are raising wages, offering bonuses and flexible hours to fill openings and to meet consumer demand. While this is putting more dollars in people's pockets, he's worried the short-term gains won't keep up with rising inflation.

"You've got wages that are rising pretty rapidly, which prices are rising even faster," said Kerpen. "In real terms, people are losing ground. They're making more but able to purchase less with it. It looks like it's more likely to get worse than better."

As the president doubles down on the business vaccine mandate, combined with pushing historic government spending, the nation waits to see what the future of America will look like. Statewide numbers will be released in the coming weeks to give a better indication of where things stand regionally. 

The Jan. 4 mandate and the future of the Build Back Better agenda could drastically change the workforce in the coming months. 

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