US hiring slows but hurricane fallout blurs findings [Video]

U.S. hiring slowed in October, but fallout from hurricanes and labor strikes likely caused an undercount of the nation’s workers.

A fresh jobs report marked the final piece of major economic data before Election Day. However, the data offers little more than a blurry snapshot of the U.S. economy due to the one-off disruptions last month.

Employers added 12,000 workers last month, falling short of economist expectations of 90,000 additional jobs, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on Friday showed. The unemployment rate stands at 4.1%, which matches the previous month’s level and remains historically low.

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The hiring in October amounted to a sharp slowdown from 254,000 jobs added in September, though it should be interpreted with a significant dose of caution, experts told ABC News prior to the data release.

“Workers who weren’t paid during the survey period due to …