Job growth slowed to 150,000 in October, unemployment ticked up to 3.9%

The economy added just 150,000 jobs in October, reflecting a slowdown in the labor market as the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates high to try to bring down inflation.

The headline job growth number in Friday’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was less than most economists had projected. It was also well below September's gain of 297,000 jobs, after revisions. August's job creation was also revised down, meaning that there were 101,000 fewer jobs added in those two months than previously thought.

The unemployment rate rose a tenth of a percentage point to 3.9%.

The slowdown will complicate some of the messaging coming out of the White House, which has been working to credit President Joe Biden for the strong job creation over the past year.