Nonfarm payrolls forecast increasing 65,000 in October after gaining 29,000 in September. (EPA Images pic)WASHINGTON: US nonfarm payrolls likely picked up in October, but an anticipated slowdown in annual wage growth to below 3.0% for the first time in nearly 5-1/2 years would reinforce the view that the labour market was not a source of inflation.
The Labor Department's closely watched employment report on Friday is also expected to show the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2% last month, with a high probability it may have slipped to 4.1%. Historically low layoffs and a recent jump in job openings have raised the prospect of labour market tightening.
But economists and Federal Reserve officials have maintained that the labour market poses no inflation risk. Some economists have argued that a shrinking supply of workers amid an immigration crackdown and retirements is the primary driver of the relatively low unemployment rate.
