Grocers Added Jobs in October as Unemployment Rate Ticked Down

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percentage points in October to 4.6% as private employers added 531,000 jobs for the month, with food and beverage stores accounting for 16,000 of those roles, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest monthly jobs report.

The 16,000 jobs that grocers and other food and beverage stores added in October marks a welcome uptick after a monthslong string of losses, including more than 12,000 jobs shed at food and beverage stores in September and 23,000 jobs the sector gave up in August.  

General-merchandise stores added 15,000 jobs for the month, down slightly from the more than 16,000 jobs general merchandisers added in September. Retailers as a whole added 35,000 jobs in October. Retail employment remains 140,000 jobs below its February 2020 level. 

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Restaurants and bars were a big winner in October, as employment at eating and drinking places climbed by 119,000 in October—around 22% of the jobs gain overall for the month. Employment in leisure and hospitality, which includes restaurants as well as hotels and entertainment venues, still is down 1.4 million jobs, or 8.2%, from February 2020. 

Delivery providers, referred to as couriers and messengers by the BLS, saw a decline of 5,000 jobs in October after three months of gains.

The half-million-plus jobs that private-sector employers added in October was an encouraging sign to labor-market watchers after a largely disappointing September jobs report. In Friday morning's monthly employment summary, however, the BLS also revised upward its September jobs tally, reporting that the U.S. economy added 118,000 more jobs than originally shared, for an updated total of 312,000 jobs added in the month. August's total was updated similarly by 117,000. With the two revisions, the economy added 235,000 more jobs in August and September than the BLS previously reported.