US jobs data to show whether hiring is still fueling growth

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government’s October jobs report being released Friday will help show whether hiring remains a key source of strength for an economy that’s been weakened by trade wars and a global slowdown.

It will also provide a glimpse of whatever short-term damage the now-settled strike against General Motors inflicted on the economy.

Analysts have forecast that employers added 90,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.6%, still near a 50-year low, according to a survey of forecasts by data provider FactSet.

The predicted gain is an artificially low one because of the GM strike. The strike is thought to have caused roughly 60,000 idled workers to be temporarily counted as unemployed during October.