A Synchrony booth at the NC4ME hiring event for military veterans in Wilmington, North Carolina, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026.

Allison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The U.S. economy isn't expected to have produced much job growth in October, with employers reluctant to hire workers but also not cutting staff amid a shrinking labor force and a growing problem of long-term unemployment.

Economists are looking for a meager nonfarm payrolls gain of 59,000, a slight uptick from the 29,000 jobs produced in September, according to the Dow Jones consensus. That result would continue a pattern of sparse growth.

But that's kind of OK: The forecast also is that the unemployment rate will hold at a very low 4.2% rate, the product of a climate where a stagnant labor force reduces the need for outsized job increases to keep the jobless level steady.

"Long-term, we're not going to need as many jobs added to the economy to have stable employment because we have fewer people who are available to work," said Nicole…