Current economic expansion looks set to continue at least through first part of next year, says analyst WASHINGTON: US job growth slowed less than expected in October as the drag from a strike at General Motors was offset by gains elsewhere and hiring in the prior two months was stronger than previously estimated, offering some assurance that consumers would continue to support the slowing economy. While the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report on Friday showed the unemployment rate picking up from near a 50-year low of 3.5 percent last month, that was because of an influx into the labor force in a sign of confidence in jobs markets. The report came on the heels of data this week showing a further slowdown in economic growth in the third quarter as a trade tensions-induced slump in business investment deepened. The US Federal Reserve cut interests rates on Wednesday for the third time this year, but signaled a pause in the easing cycle that started in July when it reduced borrowing costs for the first time since 2008. Friday’s solid jobs report means that the Fed, after cutting its policy rate three times since the summer, is likely to keep rates steady in the near term. Gus Faucher, Chief economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh “The current economic expansion looks set to continue at least through the first part of next year despite the trade war drag,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh. “Today’s solid jobs report means that the Fed, after cutting its policy rate three times since the summer, is likely to keep rates steady in the near term.” Nonfarm payrolls increased by 128,000 jobs last month, with manufacturing shedding 36,000 positions — the most since October 2009, the government’s survey of establishments showed. Striking workers who do not receive a paycheck during the payrolls survey period are treated as unemployed. The strike by about 46,000 workers at GM plants in Michigan and Kentucky ended last Friday. The economy created 95,000 more jobs in August and September than previously estimated. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by only 89,000 jobs in October. Job growth is slowing this year, averaging 167,000 per month compared with an average monthly gain of 223,000 in 2018, in part because of the nearly 16-month trade war between the United States and China, which has undermined business investment. The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) employment measure for the manufacturing industry has contracted, likely suggesting manufacturers could be planning workforce reductions. ISM’s services sector employment gauge has also declined.