The Kansas City Fed Labor Market Conditions Indicators (LMCI) suggest the level of activity increased modestly in October while momentum decelerated moderately. The level of activity indicator increased by 0.05 in October from −0.46 to −0.41, suggesting current activity has improved but remains below historical norms. Meanwhile, the momentum indicator decreased by 0.10 from 1.05 to 0.95, suggesting labor market momentum has weakened slightly from the historical highs of the last few months but remains strong.
These readings likely do not fully describe the state of the labor market at the end of October, as many of the input data series reflect conditions early in the month. For example, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Household Survey are from the reference period of October 11 through October 17. Additionally, the most recent data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) are for September. Therefore, labor market developments in the latter half of October will likely show up in the November 2020 LMCI readings.