Jobs Report for October: Here’s What to Watch For

“Florence really held down the jobs growth number last month, it was below where we’ve been trending,” Mr. Anderson said. “We do expect some bounce back. Jobs came back in the Carolinas.”

The expected rebound, however, could be dampened by Hurricane Michael, which Gov. Rick Scott labeled “the worst storm that our Florida Panhandle has seen in a century.” In Florida and Georgia, jobless claims rose by 10,000.

Nikhil Sanghani, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a research note that “uncertainty around the hurricanes means that we would not be surprised to see a markedly higher or lower number for employment.”

Holiday Season’s Approach

Worries about fierce competition for holiday hires have prompted employers to be more aggressive by putting offers out earlier than usual and raising wages, recruiters said. The global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks hiring announcements, has reported that companies are looking to add 700,000 seasonal workers, the largest number since 2014.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics regularly adjusts employment figures to account for seasonal changes, but here, too, unusual shifts may not be fully captured and could artificially inflate (or deflate) the monthly totals.

Rate of Wage Growth

Disappointing wage growth has been a running theme of the economic expansion, undermining workers’ sense of stability and security. It has also moderated some of the bounce that would otherwise accompany such a low jobless rate.

But there have been signs of a pickup in recent months. According to a report last week from the research arm of the payroll processing firm ADP, American workers are earning nearly $1 more per hour on average than they were a year ago. Workers in professional and business services benefited from some of the fastest growth, the report said.