Good Jobs Rate Steady In October

The Gallup Good Jobs rate (GGJ) was 45.3 percent in October, about the same as the last two months and the highest Gallup has measured for any October since 2012, when the rate was at its 2010-2015 peak of 45.7 percent. The percentage of U.S. adults participating in the workforce in October was 67.7 percent. This was up only slightly from the rate measured in September (67.5 percent) and in October of last year (66.6 percent). Gallup's workforce participation measure averaged 67.7 percent between January 2010 and June 2013, but since then has averaged 66.8 percent. Higher participation rates in the past several months may signal returning strength in the labor market.

Workforce participation increased by 0.6 percentage points from August to September 2015, coinciding with Gallup's decision to include more cellphone interviews in the U.S. beginning September 1. It is not clear to what extent the changes in the sample are influencing changes in workforce participation seen since August. Changes in the sample could increase the number of employed people in Gallup's samples.

Gallup's unadjusted U.S. unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in October, down from September's 6.3 percent and the lowest Gallup has measured since tracking began in January 2010. The previous record low for unemployment was set in December 2014, at 5.8 percent. Gallup's U.S. unemployment rate represents the percentage of adults in the workforce who did not have any paid work in the past seven days, for an employer or themselves, and who were actively looking for and available to work.

Gallup's measure of underemployment in October is 13.8 percent, down 0.3 points from September. This rate is lower than in any month since Gallup began tracking it daily in 2010. Gallup's U.S. underemployment rate combines the percentage of adults in the workforce who are unemployed (5.6 percent) with those who are working part time but desire full-time work (8.2 percent). While unemployment fell in October, the rate of "involuntary part-time" work rose 0.4 points from the 7.8 percent measured in September.