US hiring likely slowed for a 4th month as virus resurges

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers may have slowed their hiring in October for a fourth straight month with confirmed viral cases reaching record levels and the loss of government aid deepening the hardships for many.

Economists have forecast that employers added 580,000 jobs last month, down from 661,000 in September and 1.5 million in August. If that estimate proves accurate, last month's gain will have been the weakest since employers began calling some employees back to work in May. And it would mean that the economy has regained only about 12 million of the 22 million jobs that vanished when the pandemic paralyzed the economy in early spring.

The unemployment rate is expected to have declined from 7.9% to a still-high 7.7%, according to data provider FactSet. That would mark further progress but also a smaller decline in joblessness than in any previous month since the pandemic erupted in the United States.

A hiring slowdown has raised the prospect of a prolonged slump that extends unemployment for the jobless. Many temporary layoffs are becoming permanent as hotels, restaurants, airlines, retailers, entertainment venues and other employers anticipate a longer downturn than they initially expected. The resurgence of the virus would compound that threat, especially as colder weather sets in and keeps more people indoors.

A rising proportion of jobless Americans now describe their unemployment as permanent. Conversely, the proportion who say they are only temporarily laid off has tumbled from 80% in April to 40%. Millions of people have stopped looking for work, artificially lowering the unemployment rate. (People who are no longer actively seeking a job aren't counted as unemployed.)

Economists say they fear that many who have dropped out of the workforce or who face permanent job losses will suffer an erosion...