US employers add 263,000 new jobs in October The jobs market has shown signs of slowing recently after regaining all the jobs that were lost during the pandemic. US employers added 263,000 new jobs in October as help-wanted signs continue to dot the economic landscape, a hiring number down from September. The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the labor force participation rate in October at 62.1 percent was unchanged in October while employment increased to 158,470, 000. The unemployment rate remained essentially unchanged at 3.7 percent. Job growth has remained robust despite rising interest rates and growing fears of a recession. The Federal Reserve blames the current cost of living crisis in part on a tight labor market and rising wages. But wages - which rose by an annual rate of 5% in September. But there are signs that "cracks" are appearing in the jobs market. Some 219,000 people filed for unemployment insurance in the week ending 1 October, the labor department reported on Thursday - 29,000 more claims than the week before and the highest figure in four months. The number of job openings fell dramatically last month, down to just over 10m, a 10% drop from the 11.17m reported in July but still equal to over one and a half jobs for every person currently looking for work. The recession concerns are leading to increased uncertainty, and companies across sectors are beginning to reassess staffing needs. Large employers including Ford and Walmart have announced plans to scale back hiring or to layoff workers. And the number of persons not in the labor force who currently want a job moved upward in November to 405,000 from 371,000 the month earlier. 5A. Construct a generic labor market for the US as of October 1, 2022. Label initial curves and equilibrium with subscript "1". 5B. Write a phrase from the article that speaks to a change in demand for labor during October. If there is no information about a change to demand, write: "No change to demand." 5C. Write a phrase from the article that speaks to a change in supply of labor. If there is no information about a change to supply, write: "No change to supply." 5D. Change the market in 5A consistent with information in the article and your answers in 5B and 5C. Label new curves and equilibrium with subscript "2". 5E. Set out the formula for the unemployment rate. 5F. State the number of persons categorized as unemployed in October. 5G. Define the "actual unemployment rate". 5H. Showing all calculations, calculate the actual unemployment rate for October