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The U.S. Employment situation continued to improve last month, as October Nonfarm payrolls increased 531,000, beating consensus expectations were for a 413,000 improvement. Additionally, the September and August numbers were revised higher, 312,000 up from 194,000 and 483,000 up from 366,000 respectively. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.6%, better than the anticipated 4.7%. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4% meeting expectations, after a .6% increase in September. By nearly every measure the October print was a welcomed surprise.

One area, which continues to be a cause for concern, is the labor force participation rate, which remained constant at 61.6%, below the January 2020 high of 63.4%. Despite a steady increase in hourly earnings and the elimination of much of the pandemic stimulus, people have still not returned to work, as many economists anticipated. There’s much speculation about the causes of this phenomenon, health concerns, childcare issues,...